The HSV bench went up in unison as match referee Winkmann blew for time after three minutes of injury time, in the Rothosen's 2-1 round 19 win over Hertha at the Olympic stadium in the German capital city. The reason for the outbreak of emotion was two fold: Firstly, the joy after a good performance, and secondly relief, because in the end it became a bit tight as Hertha threw everything forward. Most important however was the way the team bounced back after the 1-5 home hammering to Dortmund last time out.

Thorsten Fink: I think we can be very satisfied with our performance here today. We showed the right reaction to our 1-5 home defeat last time out. We were tight at the back, and I sat quietly on the bench until the 80th minute. It was important for me to see how my team dealt with the situation from last week.
 
Heiko Westermann: It was an importnat win! Towards the end it became unnecessarily exciting, but I think we left the pitch as worthy winners. It was a step in the right direction, especially the opening hour or so. Tight at the back, ever-dangerous up front - we can do well in every game if we manage to play that way consistently and improve on the whole.