Match report

HSV fall to 2-0 defeat in 112th Hamburg derby

Dzwigala (19') and Hountondji (60') scored for the visitors. Königsdörffer looked to have scored an equaliser, before it was disallowed following a VAR check (48').

HSV lost in the 112th Hamburg derby. The Rothosen were defeated 2-0 by FC St. Pauli on Friday evening. In front of 57,000 fans at a sold-out Volksparkstadon, Merlin Polzin's side started brightly and dominated the ball in their first Bundesliga home match in over seven years. However, they fell behind after 19 minutes courtesy of Adam Dzwigala's strike. At the start of the second half, Ransford Königsdörffer looked to have bagged an equaliser (48'), but a VAR check revealed a fractional offside in the build-up and the goal was chalked off. Andreas Hountondji doubled Pauli's lead in the 60th minute. 17 minutes later, Giorgi Gocholeishvili was given his marching orders following his second booking of the evening.

There were a lot of energetic challenges in the first halfm, such as this one between Remberg and Pereira Lage.

Shakiness after a strong start...

Head coach Merlin Polzin used the same line-up that started in the Bundesliga opener in Mönchengladbach. His counterpart Alexander Blessin likewise named an unchanged starting XI from Pauli’s matchday 1 fixture against Borussia Dortmund. The intensity of the 112th Hamburg derby was palpable from the outset. Both in the stands and out on the pitch, the action was infused with passion. The Rothosen had the upper hand in the opening stages, whose surprisingly attacking mindset and fast gegenpressing forced the opposition to hit long balls forward time and again which initially did not find their target. Despite more than 60% possession and winning 60% of their duels, as well as a chance for Königsdörffer (4’), the hosts had nothing to show for their dominance.

The visitors adjusted to HSV’s pressing the longer the game went on, with their counterattacking also becoming more effective. One of these breaks led to the first corner of the match, which then resulted in the opening goal. A short corner routine was fired into the near post, where Dzwigala had half a yard of pace on his marker and smashed the ball just under the bar from close range. The Rothosen were shaken by falling behind, so much so that Blessin’s side should have added to their advantage before the break. Yet neither Pereira Lage (41’), who was played through on goal by Sinani but couldn’t hit the target, nor Hountondji (45+2’), whose shot also went wide after being unmarked and in on goal after a counterattack, were able to convert their chances. As a result, HSV went into the break with a 1-0 deficit.

The turning point? Ransford Königsdörffer’s equaliser was ruled out.

...decider after disallowed equaliser

Polzin opted against making changes for the second half, and the Rothosen came out after the break with high intensity. One of their very first attacks caught St. Pauli’s defensive line off guard, allowing Königsdörffer to latch onto a long ball forward from Gocholeishvili and slot it past goalkeeper Vasijl and into the net. What appeared to be the first Bundesliga goal for over seven years caused jubilant scenes in the stands, until VAR intervened and revealed that Königsdörffer was slightly offside on the halfway line in the build-up. Referee Dingert disallowed the goal following the check. It marked the beginning of HSV’s best period of the match, with the substitutions of Dompe and Poulsen in the 56th minute piling on the pressure and bringing several promising chances about. Muheim had the best opportunity with the 53rd minute, as his free kick was punched away from danger by Vasijl. However, it was in this phase of play that Pauli made it 2-0 through Hountondji. Just after the hour mark, the Benin striker was played through on goal following a counterattack, rounded Heuer Fernandes in the HSV goal and slid the ball in from an acute angle. It would end up being the decisive moment of the match.

In the final half an hour, HSV went for broke, bringing on more attacking reinforcements in the form of Stange and Philippe, but they struggled to create threatening opportunities outside of a Königsdörffer header (69’) due to the visitor’s cool-headed defending. To top it all off, Gocholeishvili was sent off after his second bookable offence of the match in the 77th minute which made coming from behind even harder. At the other end of the pitch, St. Pauli spurned further opportunities to add to their lead through Sinani (74’), Oppie (78’) and Sands (80’). When the referee blew the final whistle, the scoreline was still 2-0 – a deserved result for the away side following 90 minutes of regular time and ten minutes of added time.

Match stats:

Hamburger SV: Heuer Fernandes - Omari, Elfadli (75' Elfadli), Torunarigha – Gocholeishvili, Capaldo (75' Stange), Remberg, Muheim – Sahiti (56' Poulsen), Königsdörffer (82' Mikelbrencis), Rössing-Lelesiit (56' Dompe)

FC St. Pauli: Vasilj - Wahl, Smith, Dzwigala (82' Ritzka) - Pyrka (59' Saliakas), Sands, Fujita, Oppie - Sinani - Hountondji (69' Kaars), Pereira Lage (82' Metcalfe)

Goals: 0-1 Dzwigala (19'), 0-2 Hountondij (60')

Attendance: 57,000 (sold-out)

Referee: Christian Dingert

Yellow cards: Poulsen (64') / Dzwigala (7'), Sinani (37'), Pyrka (54')

Red card: Gocholeishvili (77')