20.05.2017
2-1: HSV stay up!
An 88th minute winning goal by late substitute Luca Waldschmidt kept HSV in the top flight while sending VfL Wolfsburg into a relegation play off.
HSV will be playing Bundesliga football next season! The Rothosen clawed their way to safety by beating VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 at the sold out Volksparkstadion (57,000) in the final game of the season on Saturday afternoon (20.05). Markus Gisdol’s men had to come from a goal behind after the visitors had taken a deserved 23rd minute goal through Robin Knoche. Hamburg winger Filip Kostic levelled for the home side on 32 minutes before late substitute Luca Waldschmidt nodded home the winning goal just two minutes after being brought on. What drama!
Filip Kostic’s 32nd minute equaliser marked the start of a gritty Rothosen comeback against the Wolves.
Setback as motivation
HSV coach Markus Gisdol made three changes to the side which drew 1-1 at Schalke last time out. Mavraj was suspended and his place in the team went to fit again Ekdal, while Nicolai Müller returned in attacking midfield. The desired effect however didn’t happen as the visitors started the better and the home side looked lame with fear. Wolfsburg missed two good early chances through Gomez and Blaszczykowski. Both times home keeper Mathenia saved superbly to keep his side in the game. HSV seemed to be having a collective mental blockage and simply didn’t function in any way. On 23 minutes the Wolves broke the deadlock on 23 minutes and that setback served as a massive wake up call for the Rothosen who equalised pn 32 minutes with their first real attack of the game as Holtby chipped the ball into the path of Kostic who finished will with a crisp low shot. The game remained at 1-1 as the break came but only after Malli missed a sitter seconds before the whistle.
Get in - HSV stay up! Luca Waldschmidt nodded home a Kostic cross to send the Volksparkstadion into raptures.
Crazy emotional ending
As usual HSV failed to carry that momentum and remained void of ideas and harmless in front of goal. It was going to be a late final chance as the Rothosen had done against the likes of Cologne, Hoffenheim, Gladbach, Hertha, Bayer & Co. HSV scored late decisive goals in all of those matches and went on to beat them at home. So the Volkspark stood up and were as one behind the team and that support was finally rewarded two minutes from the end as Kostic curled a wonderful ball from the left to the far post where Waldschmidt (who had been brought on two minutes previously) was lurking to nod the ball home unchallenged. What happened then is difficult to put into words: Joy, tears, hugging, ecstasy and of course relief were the order of the day as the referee finally blew the final whistle. In a word – the stadium erupted. That is how HSV’s season-long chase ended. Not for the weak of heart to say the least…
Match details:
HSV:
Mathenia - G. Sakai, K. Papadopoulos, Mavraj, Ostrzolek - Ekdal (70. Jatta), Jung - Müller (64. Gregoritsch), Holtby (86. Waldschmidt), Kostic - Wood
VfL Wolfsburg:
Casteels - S. Jung (76. Osimhen), Knoche, Wollscheid, Gerhardt - Guilavogui, Luiz Gustavo - Blaszczykowski (46. Vieirinha), Malli (84. Arnold), Ntep - Gomez
Goals:
0:1 Knoche (23.), 1:1 Kostic (32.), 2:1 Waldschmidt (88.)
Referee:
Manuel Gräfe (Berlin)
Booked:
Sakai (25.), Papadopoulos (80.), Ostrzolek (90.+4) / Guilavogui (36.), Vieirinha (59.), Casteels (90.+2)
Att:
57.000 (sold out)
No show from HSV
HSV head coach Markus Gisdol was forced into changing his team ahead of the trip south. Long term injured first choice keeper Adler was still recovering from a broken rib before his understudy Mathenia also got injured and was ruled out of the matchday 31 encounter. Up stepped under-21 stopper Mikel to the fray. Key winger Kostic who scored the only goal of the game between the two sides on matchday 14 was suspended so his place went to Austrian Gregoritsch. Ostrzolek got the nod at left back ahead of Douglas Santos while Walace replaced Jung in defensive midfield. Gisdol made four changes in all to the side which lost 1-2 at home to relegation certainties Darmstadt last time out. The new-look formation struggled early on. Augsburg created three top scoring opportunities within the opening 20 minutes. New keeper Mikel managed to keep out efforts by Kohr and Schmid and was grateful to be able to watch a Stafylidis free kick fizz narrowly wide of target. On 22 minutes the visitors were in luck again as an Altintop effort struck the left hand post with Mikel beaten. It seemed to the capacity crowd including yet another sold out contingent of travelling HSV faithful that it weould only be a matter of time before the home side would break the deadlock and they did as Altintop rounded off two counter attacks on 28 and 41 minutes to make the halftime score 2-0 to Augsburg. Mickel was powerless on both occasions and was HSV’s best man before the break.
Deserved defeat
Lasogga came on for Gregoritsch and Jung replaced Walace at the start of the second half as Gisdol opted for a two-pronged attack. Later Jatta replaced Ostrzolek. The ploy simply didn’t work as the Rothosen had more of the ball than in the previous half but were completely harmless in front of goal. Augsburg played a much more intelligent game and struck the woodwork again through Baier. That superior intelligence was underlined late on as Augsburg struck twice through Max and substitute Bobadilla (76., 85.). It was game over for HSV who failed to threaten until the 84th minute for Lasogga and Wood to miss chances. It was simply not good enough and the Rothosen remain just one point above the relegation play off spot in the table. Matchday 22 sees Gisdol and Co. host Mainz who are level on points but two places better due to a superior goal difference. Only a win will do as the teams lock horns at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg next Sunday (07.05.17, 3.30 PM).
Match details:
FC Augsburg:
Hitz - Verhaegh, Gouweleeuw, Hinteregger, Stafylidis - Kohr, D. Baier (88. Callsen-Bracker) - Schmid, Halil Altintop (80. Bobadilla), Max (87. Ji) - Finnbogason
HSV:
Mickel - Diekmeier, K. Papadopoulos, Mavraj, Ostrzolek (63. Jatta) - Sakai, Walace (46. Jung) - Gregoritsch (46. Lasogga), Holtby, Hunt - Wood
Goals:
1:0 Altintop (28.), 2:0 Altintop (41.), 3:0 Max (76.), 4:0 Bobadilla (85.)
Booked:
Baier (48.) / Mavraj (33.), Gregoritsch (44.), Ostrzolek (51.), Holtby (72.)
Referee:
Manuel Gräfe (Berlin)
Att:
30.660 (sold out)
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