Training in full swing leading up to Wiesbaden

That winning feeling is instrumental in creating a good atmosphere, strengthening the confidence within the team, and ultimately giving them the drive to repeat it. This shone through in Monday afternoon’s training at the Volkspark on the back of HSV’s home win against Fortuna Düsseldorf. Last week’s session began with 75 minutes of intense running around slalom poles and cones to prepare for the fixture, so when head coach Tim Walter started to set them up again on Monday, the boys’ hearts sunk. Much to their relief, he was just tricking them, and the drill only lasted for one round this time. They did nevertheless work up a sweat in the rest of the session, particularly during the subsequent exercises involving finishing with headers and an eleven-v-ten on half a pitch. “We wanted to make training intense and work on the finer details of our game, whilst also allowing the boys to have fun with it,” explained Tim Walter in a brief interview after the session.

Headers were particularly important to work on, considering that none of HSV’s 20 goals this season have come from one. “We often incorporate heading into our sessions. The key to them is timing, an area which we can definitely improve on,” shared the 47-year-old. “Our centre backs and Robert Glatzel are particularly good at it already, but we also want the other players to work hard on improving.” Ludovit Reis and Jean-Luc Dompe, who at 178cm and 170cm aren’t the team’s strongest aerial forces, were missing from training and therefore unable to refine their heading skills. The Dutch midfielder was out of action due to illness, while the French winger was experiencing muscle problems. Dompe took part in the warm up and went to work inside after consulting with the medical staff, alongside HSV captain Sebastian Schonlau, who is currently recovering from a calf injury. “We’re assessing Bascho on a day-to-day basis, but he likely won’t be ready before the weekend,” shared Walter. Immanuel Pherai was used as an attacker for both sides during the training came, ensuring that one side always had a numerical advantage. Matheo Raab, who returned to training after being ill last week, worked hard in goal to help his team maintain their lead. The focus is now entirely on preparing for the next fixture against SV Wehen Wiesbaden (Saturday, 7th October), and a double session is in the diary for Tuesday at the Volkspark to get the boys ready.