Jonas Boldt sat stone-faced in the press room of the Volksparkstadion and listened to his coach as he tried to explain the inexplicable. It is clear that after the defensive debacle against Hannover, the second 3:4 at home in a row, the sports director also has to make an explanation: whether and how things can continue with Tim Walter.
Experienced a defeat with his team against Hannover: Tim Walter. IMAGO/Eibner
Friday evening in the Volksparkstadion provided only a few indications that the promotion obligation can be fulfilled with Walter. Stabilizing the defense was the main task that the bosses gave their coach after the unstable first half. Eight goals conceded in two home games only allow for one interpretation: Walter can’t close the HSV. The fact that the coach and the club have already accompanied this phenomenon for most of the two and a half years together almost sets the tone for the question of how things can go in the future.
The mentality of his team is the only thing that speaks for Walter. He boasts: “We always get up.” But they always fall down, and in the long run it’s not enough for a head coach to give instructions and help his people get back on their feet again and again. They need help staying on their feet. The nature of the chain of errors before the goals conceded against Hannover marked a new low. There is no improvement in sight in reverse gear for a squad that should actually be able to do better, but which is getting worse and worse, wilder and more confused in the discipline of defensive work.
The defensive decline has long since affected individuals. Ignace van der Brempt, a big asset at full-back at the start of the season, wandered down the right side for the first time on Friday; Stephan Ambrosius, stable for a long time and avoided by Walter for a long time, has been failing in series ever since he became a regular employee; In goal, Daniel Heuer Fernandes’ former supporter had no longer been a success factor for a long time and had to make way for Matheo Raab against Hannover, who didn’t look completely happy, at least when he conceded the first goal.
It can’t be the case that we have to score five goals at home to win a game for the second time.
HSV attacker Robert Glatzel
The fact that in addition to the four goals conceded there were also two sendings off, a red card against Laszlo Benes and a traffic light card against Dennis Hadzikadunic within just one half, fits into a wild picture in which almost nothing is consistent anymore. Walter’s explanations are thin. After Karlsruhe, he primarily denounced the large number of individual mistakes, but now he says: “Mistakes don’t happen to us every week, but every other week.”
Jonas Meffert is clearer: “If we concede four goals at home twice in a row, then you have one or two problems more than just one problem.” Robert Glatzel is angry: “We’re 2-0 down again early on and are conceding so easy goals. We keep getting back up, but it can’t be the case that we have to score five goals at home for the second time to win a game. ”
“We generally made too many mistakes in all areas”
In addition to the many errors, there are recurring gameplay patterns. In November in Kiel, HSV had already caught up with a 0-2 defeat, then ran into ruin and lost 2-4. He made up 0:2 and 2:3 against KSC and 0:2 and 1:3 against Hanover. Glatzel complains: “It is repeated every time that we are naive afterwards. Of course it speaks for us that we then want more, but perhaps it was also wrong to march further forward afterwards.”
The striker also contradicts the theory – also put forward by Walter – that Benes’ sending off shortly after the 3-3 score was the sticking point. “We can defend it better with ten men.” But HSV can’t even do it with full team strength. And Boss Boldt recognized that too. He said on “Sky”: “We generally made too many mistakes in all areas. The goals conceded came far too easily, we had no gaps. We have to fundamentally question the way we work. Of course the coach plays a whole game important role. We can’t continue playing like this.” That sounds like: Things can’t go on like this.