Friendlies

HSV beaten 3-1 in friendly against Hannover 96

The Rothosen suffer defeat against in-form 2. Bundesliga leaders – Lokonga and Vieira make their HSV debuts while Glatzel converts from the spot.

Hamburger SV took part in a friendly against Hannover 96 on Thursday (4th September), in a game arranged at short notice. Behind closed doors, the Rothosen were forced to admit defeat at the Volksparkstadion training pitches, with the match finishing 3-1 to the visitors, who currently sit first in the 2. Bundesliga table.

HSV’s head coach Merlin Polzin set out his starting line-up in a 3-4-3 formation. While goalkeeping talent Fernando Dickes started in the net, midfielder Immanuel Pherai made a return to the side after recovering from a knee injury sustained in July. Hannover’s number 10 Rochelt had the first dangerous attempt of the game, with a shot from distance that cleared the crossbar. HSV also looked dangerous going forward, as Yussuf Poulsen met Ransford Königsdörffer’s cross with a diving header that only just went wide of the right post. The well-drilled Hannover side continued to pose an attacking threat, but shots from Roggow, Allgeier and Sterner all fell short of the mark. The game was then characterised by a midfield deadlock allowing few chances for either team, before the visitors struck two goals in quick succession shortly before half time. After an attractive build-up phase, Taibi opened the scoring, before Rochelt lobbed in a second to secure a 2-0 lead heading into the break.

LOKONGA AND VIEIRA MAKE THEIR DEBUTS

HSV emerged from the dressing room with two changes to the line-up, with Nicolai Remberg and Emir Sahiti replacing Daniel Elfadli and Rayan Philippe. Soon the focus was on keeper Dickes, however, who came out on top in a one-on-one against Yakota. The HSV shot-stopper was ultimately unable to save a similar chance later on, as Oudenne rounded the 17-year-old and fired home to make it 3-0 to Hannover. In the break of play, Polzin made another set of substitutions, with three changes this time. Notably, deadline-day signings Albert Sambi Lokonga and Fábio Vieira came on to make their Hamburger SV debuts. In addition, Poulsen made way for Robert Glatzel. The triple substitution had a significant impact on the game, as not only did the fresh legs provide a new momentum for the Rothosen, but the centre-forward went on to coolly convert a penalty won by Sahiti. Shortly after, Glatzel laid the ball off to Remberg in the box, whose attempt was blocked at the last second before Vieira and Lokonga combined to hit the side netting from the resulting corner. Glatzel was even involved in the final dangerous attack of the game, failing to hit the back of the net after receiving a cross from the substitute Bakery Jatta. As such, the game finished 3-1, albeit with a huge improvement in the Rothosen’s performance in the final 30 minutes.

Match stats:

Hamburger SV: Dickes - Ramos, Elfadli (46’ Remberg), Hefti - Mikelbrencis (71’ Jatta), Meffert, Pherai (64’ Lokonga), Katterbach - Königsdörffer (64’ Vieira), Poulsen (64’ Glatzel), Philippe (46’ Sahiti)

Hannover 96: Weinkauf - Allgeier, Nawrocki (46’ Neubauer), Sterner - Oudenne, Roggow, Leopold (64’ Engelbreth), Kokolo (89’ Ebnoutalib), Yokota (76’ Niklaus), Rochelt - Taibi (69’ Vogel)

Goals: 0-1 Taibi (41’), 0-2 Rochelt (44’), 0-3 Oudenne (61’), 1-3 Glatzel (73’, penalty)

Referee: Daniel Piotrowski