After the 3-0 win in the first leg, VfB Stuttgart is optimistic about the relegation second leg at Hamburger SV (Monday, June 5th, from 8:45 p.m. in the full audio report of the Sportschau). Coach Sebastian Hoeneß warns his team not to feel too safe.
The starting position for VfB Stuttgart is very good after last Thursday’s 3-0 home win against HSV. If the Swabians can almost repeat their performance from the first game in the relegation second leg, nothing should burn – and they remain first class.
Sebastian Hoeneß: “Games haven’t been won in the first half”
Nevertheless, Coach Hoeneß warns that nothing has been achieved yet. “Nobody lost any pressure after the first leg,” said the VfB coach at the press conference before the second game against the Hanseatic League. “Games aren’t won in the first half.” It would be “fatal if we now deduce that the second leg will be like the first leg. We need to be on guard”.
The 41-year-old demanded another 90 minutes of full concentration from his players. “We have to be there straight away – like in the first leg,” he said. In the first game, VfB Stuttgart took the lead after just 45 seconds through Konstantinos Mavropanos. Ex-Hamburger Josha Vagnoman (51st minute) and Serhou Guirassy (54th) scored the other goals for the Swabians, who left numerous opportunities unused.
“The pressure is still there”
So it “only” goes 3-0 in the Hanseatic city – but according to Hoeneß, this gives his team the necessary sharpness. “We have a good starting position. But we’re not there yet. The pressure is still there. We have to confirm our performance again and be sharp, concentrated and focused.”
The VfB coach expects an impressive backdrop in the second leg. In the sold-out Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, it was important for his team to keep a cool head. “It will be a game in which the fans will do everything to push their team forward. It will be heated and loud. We have to prepare for that,” he said, but was optimistic: “We know such scenes from ours Arena.”
As in the first leg, VfB have to do without regular keeper Fabian Bredlow. The goalkeeper was “not at 100 percent” after an inner ligament strain, said Hoeneß, “then it’s impossible that you can play a game like that”. Bredlow will again be represented by Florian Müller.
