In the clash between the two promoted teams, TSG Hoffenheim II made a strong statement, sending the league leaders from Duisburg home with a 4-1 loss.
TSG Hoffenheim’s reserve team defeated MSV Duisburg 4-1. Even so, the 3. Liga leaders got off easy.
While MSV has won only one of its last seven matches, the Kraichgauers have picked up ten points from their last five games and, with 32 goals, now boast the league’s best offense. Stefan Kleineheismann, coach of TSG Hoffenheim II, said after the game on “Magenta Sport”: “The first half was our best performance of the season so far—a lot of things clicked. We worked incredibly hard for this victory through our pressing. Duisburg didn’t have time to play clear balls, and on top of that, we put together great combinations and scored some awesome goals. We want to make a statement, but my focus is also on ensuring we can do this against any opponent—that we build this consistency into the team so the guys can take the next step in their development.”
His counterpart, of course, was anything but satisfied: MSV coach Dietmar Hirsch. He said openly and honestly: “We completely misunderstood the sport. We played a bit like basketball—without any physicality. That’s the crux of the matter, and we made individual mistakes. We put in a poor performance—or rather, nothing at all. Our success rate in one-on-one battles was abysmal in the first half, and the individual errors were simply too many. We showed a slight reaction in the second half, played with more physicality, and scored a goal—which isn’t a given when you’re, to put it bluntly, getting your ass kicked in the first half. We need to address this and be honest with each other. We want to make amends with a strong performance next week. I expect a response!”
The fans cheered us on after the 1-4 loss here in Hoffenheim. But we feel really bad for them because they’re freezing their butts off in the stands at minus two degrees, and this is what we’re giving them. We want to show a response against Alemannia Aachen. Still, we shouldn’t downplay the kind of season we’ve had so far. We need to quickly put this dark day behind us
Tobias Fleckstein
Center back Tobias Fleckstein and his teammates are also determined to deliver that response. After all, a sold-out crowd awaits on Saturday—November 29, 2 p.m.—when the West German derby against Alemannia Aachen kicks off in Duisburg.
“I think the coach summed it up well. That can’t happen—no question about it. We could have been down 0–6. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen again as soon as possible. That strength in one-on-one battles and aggressiveness that we usually have has completely deserted us. But maybe it’s better to lose like this once than to lose 0–1 four times.”
Looking ahead to the Aachen game, Fleckstein said: “The fans cheered us up after the 1–4 loss here in Hoffenheim. But we feel really bad for them because they’re freezing their butts off in the stands here at minus two degrees, and this is what we’re giving them. We want to show a response against Alemannia Aachen. Still, we shouldn’t downplay the kind of season we’ve had so far. We need to put this dark day behind us quickly.”