Post Match Thoughts
07.11.21
The story with the draws
In Karlsruhe, the Red Shorts had to settle for a draw for the 8th time this season. Undoubtedly an unsatisfactory circumstance and at the same time an indication of a 2. Bundesliga that is as contested as it is balanced.
"It's all very even. They are always very close games. That's exactly what reflects the potential and the quality of the 2nd division" - with this statement HSV head coach Tim Walter described the situation of the league in the German football lower house in the run-up to the 13th second division matchday. Looking at yesterday's 1-1 draw of his charges in the top match at KSC and the table situation after the provisional conclusion of matchday 13, this description, which has been characteristic of the 2nd division for years, is once again confirmed.
Eighth draw for HSV
Yesterday, in foggy Karlsruhe, HSV experienced for the second time this season how sensitively the pendulum can swing in a second division match. While the Hamburg team took an early 1-0 lead in the 14th minute through Sonny Kittel, who was playing his 75th 2.Liga game for HSV, it was a case of "easy come easy go" just a few minutes later after a Hofmann goal (18th). Afterwards, an open exchange of blows developed with knockout chances on both sides, which the referees of a boxing match would have judged differently, but in the end, after twelve rounds, would most likely have been equal. Nothing unusual as far as that is concerned, as 32 matches have already ended in a draw this season.
But for HSV it was already the eighth draw of the season and the fourth 1-1 draw after a 1-0 lead, so that after the final whistle a certain swoon set in among players and supporters alike in view of the many divisions of points. "Of course we are not satisfied with these many draws, but we have to take the 1-1 and this one point with us," said captain Sebastian Schonlau, for example. "In the end, all that remains is the one point, which of course disappoints us. You could see that in the circle afterwards, no one is satisfied. We wanted to get closer to the top places with a win, but we didn't succeed," agreed midfielder Jonas Meffert.
A lot of work during the international break
The Hamburg side did not make much progress with the missed three points, but they still managed to gain one point each on their opponents from Nuremberg, Regensburg and Schalke, who were without points on this matchday. The Club (1:2 vs. Bremen), the Jahn (2:3 vs. Rostock) and today the Bundesliga relegation team (2:4 vs. Darmstadt) all felt the balance of the 2nd Division in their own way and all lost their home games. On the other hand, the Reds, who have been unbeaten for eleven games, have only suffered such a defeat once this season, so that Walter's charges remain within striking distance of the upper echelons.
"Nothing replaces victories" is a well-known saying in sport. However, the feeling of generally not being beaten should not be underestimated in this context. In the past three second division seasons, the teams with the fewest defeats and at the same time a comparatively high number of draws finished at the top of the table - namely 1. FC Union Berlin in the 2018/19 season (3rd place; 5 defeats, 15 draws), Arminia Bielefeld in the 2019/20 season (1st place; 2 defeats, 14 draws) and SpVgg Greuther Fürth in the 2020/21 season (2nd place; 6 defeats, 10 draws). Now, the Rothosen do not want to become the draw king of the 2nd division. Rather, Tim Walter and his charges are aware of the potential for improvement at both ends of the field, which they will need to exploit after two days off starting on Tuesday at the Volksparkstadion. The upcoming international match period is to be used in the best possible way so that the pendulum swings in favour of the Rothosen in the next balanced second division match - target date: 20 November 2021, when SVV Jahn Regensburg, second in the table (25 points), are the guests of the seventh in the table (20 points) at the Volksparkstadion.