Friendly

HSV win friendly 2-1 against Weiche Flensburg

The Rothosen beat the sixth-placed side from the Regionalliga Nord in a friendly, with goals from Noah Katterbach and Alexander Rössing-Lelesiit.

Hamburger SV played a friendly against fourth-tier side SC Weiche Flensburg 08 on Sunday (17th August). Behind closed doors at the Volksparkstadion training ground, the Rothosen came out on top 2-1 in a 60-minute run-out.

Just a day after the 2-1 extra-time win at FK Pirmasens in the DFB-Pokal, head coach Merlin Polzin used the game to give further minutes to players who hadn’t featured in the cup tie. Eight of them started this friendly, and HSV were on the front foot from the outset. Striker Philippe tested Flensburg keeper Rust with both a strike from the edge of the box and a corner swung straight onto goal, while captain Remberg also drew a save with a long-range effort in the opening quarter of an hour.

Both sides then cancelled each other out until Katterbach twice threatened in quick succession. First, he headed a Hefti cross over, before firing a powerful left-footed strike into the net on 29 minutes to make it 1-0 – the half-time score.

“Match practice under competitive conditions”

Polzin made his first change after the restart, bringing on youngster Nandja for Gocholeishvili. Minutes later, his U21 teammate Megeed delivered a perfect corner for Rössing-Lelesiit, who met it at the near post with a first-time finish to double the lead (39’). The 18-year-old Norwegian had made his first competitive start for HSV only the day before in the cup.

Another academy player, striker Boakye, came close soon after his introduction but was denied by substitute keeper Bock. Instead of a 3-0 lead, HSV conceded at the other end in the 52nd minute when Behrmann coolly finished off a counter to pull one back for Flensburg. The closing stages grew increasingly hectic amid a flurry of changes. Hefti saw a goal ruled out for offside before Schonlau prevented an equaliser at the other end with a vital intervention. The centre-back almost grabbed a third himself moments later following a Katterbach corner, but his shot after Adam’s knockdown flew well over. After 60 minutes it finished 2-1 to HSV, watched on from the sidelines by the cup squad as they completed their recovery session.

“It was about giving those players who’ve had fewer minutes recently some proper match practice,” explained Polzin afterwards. “We’re grateful to Flensburg for making the trip on such short notice. The test was really worthwhile – less about tactics today, more about working on individual roles and focus areas. What I really liked was the energy out there, and that’s key after the cup game too. We can only be successful with that kind of energy, and it was definitely on show today.”

Match statistics:

Hamburger SV: Peretz – Gocholeishvili (31' Nandja), Hefti, Schonlau, Soumahoro, Mikelbrencis – Remberg, Megeed – Rössing-Lelesiit (43' Adam), Philippe (43' Boakye), Katterbach

SC Weiche Flensburg 08: Rust (31' Bock) – Duru (42' Behrmann), Ghubasaryan (42' Faleu), Albaek (42' Iloka), Sarr (35' Ntika), Wagner (31' Celotto) – Nwokoma (42' Hartmann), Schleemann (42' Plechaty), Richter, Tytarenko (42' Cornils) – Gyamenah

Goals: 1-0 Katterbach (29'), 2-0 Rössing-Lelesiit (39'), 2-1 Behrmann (52')

Referee: Kilian Baum