display

Hamburger SV sees the draw at Jahn Regensburg as progress and course correction in the promotion race of the 2nd Bundesliga.

But is that really it?

The result (1: 1) was indeed better than in Sandhausen (1: 2).

"In the second half, the team clearly showed that they are alive," said coach Daniel Thioune.

“The team resisted, they won't surrender.

Nobody should write us off. ”If you hear the words, you might think it's a relegation battle.

What is feared and downright condemned by the club's management are the comparisons with previous years.

But they are by no means useless to determine what has changed and what has developed for the better - and what has not.

The perplexity remains as to why a team regularly ducks its head in strong headwinds.

At least for one half as in Regensburg.

Once again, the North Germans have shown: If the opponent stands up, attacks the Hamburger carrying the ball early and impresses them with tough duels - high pressing, as it is called in technical jargon - the team is only a shadow of itself.

display

This is where catchy guys like Toni Leistner come in handy.

Three months after his torn muscle he gave his comeback and the defense stability.

Even more important: Leistner is someone who stands bolt upright even in a storm and whips his neighbors.

"We can build on the second half," said the 30-year-old uncompromising man about the draw in Regensburg.

There is no discussion about Thioune despite the crash in the second half of the season with only two wins in eleven games.

"I have no doubts about the coach," said sports director Jonas Boldt the TV broadcaster Sky.

The coach was brought in from VfL Osnabrück at the beginning of the season to initiate long-term and stable development.

The dilemma: HSV needs rapid promotion and the associated financial upswing.

Long-term thinking and patience in the professional football business model only exist in Sunday speeches.

Nevertheless, Boldt is committed and confesses that HSV will "go the same way" with Thioune.

The supervisory board decided that in the previous year.

The nerves get thinner in the final sprint of the league.

HSV still has four games.

Even if he wins all of them, there is no guarantee that he will be eligible for promotion.

Holstein Kiel, three games behind and thus a hidden Bundesliga candidate, has a huge say.

Only the missteps of the others give the HSV hope.