HSV claim first away win of campaign against Heidenheim

Merlin Polzin guided his side to their first victory on the road since their return to the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win at the Voith Arena this afternoon.

After their hard-fought draw against Bayern Munich last weekend, Hamburger SV went a step better with a 2-0 win this afternoon over 1.FC Heidenheim. Goals from Königsdörffer and Philippe made the difference for HSV.

The first talking point of this game was delivered by the hosts as Marvin Pieringer, Arijon Ibrahimovic and Niklas Dorsch linked up inside 5 minutes to sting the palms of Hamburg’s Daniel Heuer-Fernandes.

HSV eventually settled shortly after the 15th-minute with recent winter signing Philip Otele looking menacing on the left flank. Miro Muheim almost supplied the perfect cross to Fabio Vieira but Dorsch had time to hack clear. 

Shortly after Muheim’s misplaced pass fell to Pieringer who couldn’t convert from range, HSV eventually tested Ramaj. A blistering shot from Albert Sambi Lokonga needed a strong fist from the BVB loanee to tap over the bar. 

When Jatta and Vieira blazed over, it looked like first-half would ultimately end goal-less. However, Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer thumped home from a tricky angle after being superbly picked out by Otele on the break.

Both sides made two substitutions each as Heidenheim introduced Sirlord Conteh and Stefan Schimmer, while HSV called on Downs and Torunarigha. The hosts missed a chance to equalise as Dinkçi arrived late at the back post.

Nearing the hour, Muheim and Vieira found themselves shut out by the Heidenheim rearguard. Conteh also found himself in a favourable position, but fellow substitute Torunarigha did well to shut him out. 

Further changes arrived from Frank Schmidt with Honsak and Zivzivadze thrown on. Their next opportunity fell to skipper Patrick Mainka who watched his header get beaten away from the top corner by Heuer-Fernandes.

The victory was sealed against the run of play with 12 minutes remaining. Vieira ran down the right and crossed for Rayan Philippe to tap in at the back post. Heidenheim’s luck was summed up as Zivzivadze was denied of a consolation goal after an offside VAR review.