FC Erzgebirge Aue is stumbling towards the 3rd division.

At Hamburger SV, who have been without a win for five games, the Saxons lost 4-0 (2-0) in the catch-up game in the second Bundesliga on Tuesday evening.

It was the seventh defeat in the ninth game for the table penultimate.

Six games before the end of the season, Aue is nine points behind relegation place 16, which Dynamo Dresden currently holds.

In front of 21,890 spectators in the Volksparkstadion, Robert Glatzel (14th) gave the Hanseatic League the lead before Sonny Kittel (45th + 1) increased before the change.

Moritz Heyer (75') scored to make it 3-0 before Ludovit Reis (83') marked the final score.

With that, HSV climbed to sixth place.

Aue's coach Pavel Dotchev made five changes compared to the 3-2 defeat in Ingolstadt.

He also had to do without the red-banned Prince Owusu.

HSV coach Tim Walter made two changes to his starting XI after the 2-1 draw against SC Paderborn.

In the rain in Hamburg, HSV started dominantly, but missed two good opportunities early on.

But the third chance was there: After Aue was unable to clear a long cross into the penalty area, Kittel put the ball on the ball again – Glatzel headed the ball completely free on the other side and scored his 17th goal of the season.

After that, apart from a few shots on goal by Dimitrij Nazarov (33'/39'), all of which were parried by HSV keeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes, there was hardly anything to be seen of the second-worst attack in the league.

In stoppage time in the first half, Kittel shot a free kick from a good 20 yards straight into Auer's goal.

FC keeper Martin Männel looked more than unhappy.

After the change, the club from the Ore Mountains sent a warning.

Antonio Jonjic (51') shot the HSV goal from the inside right after a counterattack, but Fernandes cleared for a corner.

Dotchev, who considers HSV to be the strongest team in the league, had demanded of his team before the game, "we have to act, put HSV under pressure".

But the 300 Auer fans who traveled with them saw little of that.

With more than 60 percent ball possession, HSV was able to pass the ball almost at will.

Hardly any resistance, hardly any rebellion - Aue was practically waiting for the next goal.

This came in the 75th minute: Aue couldn't clear the ball again, Heyer then simply threw the ball under the bar.

But HSV pushed on.

The agile Reis then rewarded himself with a well-placed shot from 17 meters with his goal to make it 4:0.

The Auer players slipped off the pitch with hanging heads.