Post Match Report

“Sometimes you just need a goal to break the rut”

The day after HSV’s goalless draw at home to Bochum, Christian Titz spoke to the press about the disappointing result and the need for timely improvements.

55% possession, 6-1 corners, 18-11 shots on goal – the home side were ahead on almost all stats on Sunday. However, the most important stat from the game was the score: 0-0. Titz’s side put in a tremendous effort to finally get their third home win of the season, but they created little in the final third and so struggled to find the breakthrough. The fans were just as disappointed as the players when referee Christof Günsch blew for full time. It was a day of missed opportunities and the players were self-critical following the game, with the current lack of goals at home due to not being dangerous enough in attack. Christian Titz was of the same opinion in his press conference today, and spoke at length about the issues currently surrounding his team.

Titz spoke about…

… the game against Bochum: I think it was a decent draw to get. Both teams tried to play the ball forward, so there were often chances on the counter. We had a total of 17 attacks where we lacked the correct decision or the final pass, so obviously I’m not pleased, because we wanted to win at home.

… the lack of goals: Whenever we put a few passes together, the final ball seems to be missing. There were a few situations where there was an overload and we could have got in behind, but then we made the wrong decision. Sometimes we get our positioning wrong, but other times we just play the ball too late. We’ll work on this issue in training and want to improve in Magdeburg on Friday.

… the fans’ disappointment: People come to the stadium to see us win, so I completely understand that they’re not happy with the result. Nevertheless, I get the feeling that the vast majority of fans are backing us and pushing us forward. In the long run, we have to win our home games – that’s crystal clear. We’re not saying that everything’s great and we know that we’ve missed a chance. However, we know that the fans are still behind us and we won’t let our heads drop.

… the lack of fire power: Sometimes in football, you just need a goal to break the rut. Confidence is very important in this respect. However, we’re not the only ones that are having this problem at the moment. I think there are a few different reasons for it. Often, it’s just small things that we could be doing better. These things work in training, but we need to work to implement them during a game. I trust the players to manage this.

… the lack of danger from set pieces: They’re a very important part of the game, so we practise them twice a week. We know that a set piece can decide a game. We were dangerous from them at the start of the season, but less so recently. We’re working on them intensively.

… HSV’s progress: Before the start of the season, we said that we’d be pleased if we were within touching distance of the top of the league after ten games. The fact that we’ve already topped the table this season, however, changes our expectations. The fact is that we’d like to have more points on the board. The home games haven’t gone ideally, but we want to fix that in the away games. If we improve in the final third, we’ll be more content.