Match Report

Wasteful finishing costs HSV the win in Wiesbaden

Törles Knöll's injury time equaliser snatched three points away from HSV, who had a plethora of chances to seal the deal in the second half.

Hamburg's wasteful finishing and slack defending was punished by 10-man Wehen Wiesbaden on Sunday (3rd November), as Törles Knoll's injury time goal sealed a point for the hosts at the Brita-Arena. The teams went into the half-time break with nothing to separate them, as Daniel Heuer Fernandes had the busier first half of the two goalkeepers, due to a lack of concentration with and without the ball from the Rothosen. David Kinsombi pounced on Wiesbaden goalkeeper Watkowiak's mistake to give Hamburg the lead in the 48th minute at the start of a much-improved second half, before Stefan Aigner saw red ten minutes later. A man up, the Rothosen had countless opportunities to seal the game, but their profligacy in front of goal was punished in injury time by Törles Knoll's goal from a corner.

A well-organised and hungry Wiesbaden defence met the Rothosen in the first period, something HSV failed to come to terms with.

Lack of urgency and precision in goalless first half

Dieter Hecking was forced into three changes from the side that had started the league game against Stuttgart, with the injured Josha Vagnoman replaced by Khaled Narey at right-back, whilst David Kinsombi and Lukas Hinterseer came in for Christoph Moritz and Martin Harnik. Hinterseer was into the action straight away, having Hamburg's first meaningful attempt in the ninth minute, as the Austrian's half-volleyed attempt from Tim Leibold's floated free-kick was smartly saved by Lukas Watkowiak in the Wiesbaden goal. However, that was the only chance for the guests in the opening exchanges, as sloppiness in possession halted any kind of momentum that was built. And yet more sleepy play, this time from Rick van Drongelen, led to the first chance for the hosts, as Stefan Aigner had a free run on goal after dispossessing the Hamburg captain, only for Daniel Heuer Fernandes to stand tall and bat away the former Eintracht Frankfurt winger's effort.

The Rothosen looked most dangerous on the break when their passing didn't need to evade the well-organised Wiesbaden defence, as Bakery Jatta's driving run freed Sonny Kittel in the 27th minute, and the diminuitive winger cut inside, only to see his effort cleared off the line by Niklas Dams. Hamburg looked threatening as soon as they were able to string a few passes together, something that happened far too infrequently in the first period. The hosts on the other hand seemed up for the fight, pouncing on any mistakes from the Hamburg backline, with Heuer Fernandes making another fine save and efforts from Kuhn and Schäffler both heading past the goal. The last action of the first half saw a lovely chipped ball from Adrian Fein find David Kinsombi in the box, but the ball wouldn't fall kindly to either the 23-year-old or Sonny Kittel, somewhat symbolic of a frustrating first half for the Rothosen.

David Kinsombi's third goal of the season in the 48th-minute wasn't enough for HSV to seal all three points.

Much-improved Hamburg fail to seal the deal

The words from Dieter Hecking during the half-time team talk obviously seemed to have an effect, as HSV raced out of the blocks in the second half. Tim Leibold drove forward and let fly from 25 yards, and his effort was too powerful for Lukas Watkowiak to hold. The onrushing David Kinsombi was the grateful recipient of the mistake and the 23-year-old coolly slotted past Watkowiak for his third of the season. Bakery Jatta had the ball in the net a mere minute after the restart from a Sonny Kittel free-kick, which was correctly ruled out for offside. Wiesbaden's task became all that more difficult just before the hour mark as Stefan Aigner was judged to have deliberately trod on Tim Leibold's hand after the ball was long gone, and was sent for an early bath by referee Rode.

With Wiesbaden a man down, Hamburg dominated possession, missing that crucial second to kill the game off. Adrian Fein's left-footed curling effort whistled just past the post and Bakery Jatta should have done better when 1-on-1 with Watkowiak, but could only find the 'keeper's feet rather than the back of the net to keep the contest within Wiesbaden's reach heading into the final quarter of an hour. Yet more chances came and went for the Rothosen, and the errant finishing was punished a minute into injury time, as a Wiesbaden corner was turned in from eight yards by Törles Knöll, Wiesbaden's first attempt on target in the second half. HSV head back to Hamburg with a point for the third away game in a row, and will look for their first away win since Karlsruhe next Saturday in Kiel.

Game overview

SV Wehen Wiesbaden: Watkowiak - Kuhn (69' Schwede), Mockenhaupt, Dams, Medic, Niemeyer - Mrowca (80' Ajani), Lorch - Aigner, Dittgen (86' Knöll) - Schäffler

Hamburger SV: Heuer Fernandes - Narey, Jung, van Drongelen, Leibold - Fein - Kinsombi (86' Moritz), Dudziak (80' Samperio) - Jatta, Hinterseer, Kittel (90' David)

Goals: 0-1 Kinsombi (48'), 1-1 Knöll (90'+1)

Attendance: 9,100 (sold-out)

Referee: René Rohde (Rostock)

Yellow cards: Mrowca (31') / -

Red cards: Aigner (57') / -