Hamburg moved to within touching distance of the Bundesliga’s top half on Sunday with a 3-2 home win over Borussia Monchengladbach.
After going behind early to a Fabian Johnson far-post finish, Hamburg went back ahead through Martin Hinteregger’s own goal, followed by Artjom Rudnev’s lashed finish across Yann Sommer to lead at the break.
The second half plateaued until the 80-minute mark, when substitute Ivo Ilicevic was left criminally unmarked at the back post to head home from a corner. Gladbach’s defending was to blame, but Die Fohlen gave themselves a fighting chance when Raffael tucked home with two minutes to play.
However, Hamburg held on to record the win and leave Gladbach with the third worst defensive record in the league.
Gladbach a shambles at the back
An own goal, a terrible interception attempt and scandalous marking contributed to Gladbach’s downfall in this clash, and as mentioned prior, Andre Schubert’s men now lay claim to the third-worst defensive record in the Bundesliga. The failure of Mo Dahoud and then Oscar Wendt to clear a bouncing ball allowed Gideon Jung to fire at goal, with Hinteregger throwing a leg at the ball and diverting it into his own net.
Andreas Christensen and Hinteregger failed to get behind Rene Adler’s long clearance just before half time, allowing Rudnev to dash in behind and finish with aplomb across Sommer. Finally, the Foals showed their complete lack of defensive awareness when Ilicevic found acres of space from the set piece. Yet again, Gladbach conceded from a set piece, which is becoming a consistent problem for them defensively.
#Xhaka: “We started well but then we made too many mistakes. We have to learn from them.” #HSVBMG #fohlenelf pic.twitter.com/g6TBZjLAcw
— Borussia (@borussia_en) February 14, 2016
Tenacity the key for the home side
Hamburg’s greatest asset in this clash was their unnerving desire and continual tenacity as they forced the visitors into mistakes at the back. Josip Drmic, playing against his parent club, was allowed space through the intense running of Rudnev, whose goal was just desserts for an outstanding performance.
Lewis Holtby was also industrious in midfield, snapping into a number of tackles and passing well, while in front of him, Aaron Hunt ran the show behind the strikers.
Hamburg’s intent in this game matches that of almost any other team, and the Dinos will travel to face Eintracht Frankfurt next weekend with the chance to break into the Bundesliga’s top 10 with a win.
Fabulous Fabian
American international Fabian Johnson’s fifth goal in this Bundesliga season got the Foals running in this clash, but his movement up and down the left-flank combined with solid passing saw him as one of the visitors’ most influential players. Johnson’s intense running saw him in place to finish that goal, and he did well to finish at full speed as he latched onto the end of Thorgan Hazard’s cross.
Johnson’s form this season has seen his importance to this side skyrocket, as well as his value to the United States Mens National Team. In what is arguably his prime at 28 years of age and with 40 senior international caps to his name, Johnson will have attracted the interest of suitors this season, and with an arsenal of wingers in their side, Gladbach may see fit to entertain offers come the summer window.
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