Season
19.01.22
Heuer Fernandes: "Want to take the tailwind with us".
The HSV goalkeeper was voted "Man of the Match" for the second time in the cup competition against Cologne. The "flow" should now also be taken into the derby.
HSV in this year's DFB Cup - in addition to great team performances, that is also the story of Daniel Heuer Fernandes so far. In the second round against 1. FC Nürnberg, after Lino Tempelmann's missed shot (quote Heuer Fernandes: "I looked over at him"), the HSV goalkeeper stopped Asger Sörensen's penultimate attempt with his knee, thus paving the way for the club to advance to the next round (Jonas David converted the decisive penalty). But of all things, this heroic act not only earned "Ferro" the "Man of the Match" award, but also a lengthy capsule injury in his knee. For the first time in his HSV career, the keeper was out for several weeks. To be precise, it was almost 80 days, during which others in famous stories sometimes travel around the world, and in this case the keeper was condemned to spectate in competitive matches. The 29-year-old German-Portuguese only started to work his way back into the game during winter preparation and the training camp in Spain, and celebrated his comeback between the posts against Dynamo Dresden (1:1) last Friday (14 January).
"Luck and spontaneity" in the penalty shoot-out
Already then he showed why coach Tim Walter calls him his clear number one. In Cologne, his importance for HSV became even clearer. Although the goalkeeper-technician allowed himself a few unaccustomed insecurities with his passes right at the beginning, his self-confidence and his important passing accuracy also increased again as the game progressed. "I didn't have any concerns, but of course you never know how you're going to get back into the game after an injury like that. Even if you're in the flow of the game, sometimes you can have a bad game. I had planned to play a solid game, the good games will come by themselves," he says modestly. Because: Ferro played a very good game in the cup night in Cologne, kept his box clean in 120 minutes except for Anthony Modeste's penalty and became a hero again in the penalty shoot-out when he saved Salih Özcan's attempt. "Of course I watch scenes of the opponent before the game. But a penalty shoot-out is always a bit of luck and spontaneity," said Heuer Fernandes, explaining his secret to success, which was again confirmed this time with the "Man of the Match" award. He says that when Florian Kainz took the penalty, he saw that the HSV bench immediately jumped up. "Then it occurred to me that it was two touches after all. It took the referee a bit longer, but then it was clear," he said, describing the seconds after the last curious penalty.
The success in the DFB Pokal is now to be confirmed in the league. Already on Friday (kick-off: 6.30 p.m., live on HSVnetradio), the city derby against FC St. Pauli is on the agenda. "We want to take the tailwind with us. That is what we have set out to do. Of course, the performance we showed on the pitch can give a flow," says Heuer Fernandes. Above all, he says, it is important to continue believing in one's own strengths. "Our style of play is to always be brave. If you look at our chances, they come from having a brave build-up at the back and making the spaces bigger at the front. We are convinced of this way," said the keeper, who also wants to build on his performances in the derby. "This is a game with high explosive power. We are looking forward to it. If we bring our performance to the pitch, we can win the game." And, as is well known, the derby always writes its own special stories.