Derby defeat despite first-team help: two HSV stars feature for the U21s! | OneFootball

Things are currently going anything but smoothly at HSV. And that applies not only to the Bundesliga team, but also to the U21s.

After eight matches played, the Rothosen’s reserve side sits just 15th in the Regionalliga Nord table. Two wins and one draw have already been offset by five defeats. The HSV youngsters suffered arguably the most painful of those on Wednesday at lunchtime. At the unusual kickoff time of 12 p.m., they were handed a heavy 3–0 defeat by FC St. Pauli’s second team. For the young Kiezkicker, it was their first derby win since October 26, 2018.

All the more bitter from HSV’s perspective: the match was lost despite the presence of two professionals who actually belong to the Bundesliga squad. Both top talent Louis Lemke and the sidelined Immanuel Pherai were in the starting lineup at Stadion Hoheluft. However, they were unable to make any real impact on the game, and HSV lost fully deservedly. “We didn’t reach our maximum today. It’s simply not enough to just tag along a little bit,” a critical coach Lukas Anderer is quoted as saying by the Hamburger Abendblatt.

Photo: IMAGO

Three reasons for hope for HSV’s U21s

Despite the sluggish start to the season, there are also two encouraging signs for Hamburg’s U21 side. For one thing, with an average age of 19.8, the squad is the youngest in the entire Regionalliga Nord. For another, the Hanseatic club’s youngsters have often struggled to get out of the blocks in recent years. Not infrequently, however, that was followed by a comeback run at the end of which HSV finished the season comfortably clear of the relegation places. They will no doubt be hoping for a similar trajectory this year.

Coach Anderer will also be able to rely on Lemke from time to time. The 16-year-old is regarded as HSV’s biggest talent and had already been named in the professional starting lineup twice at the start of the season: in the DFB-Pokal clash against SC Verl (3–0) and on the opening Bundesliga matchday against Borussia Dortmund (0–2). The clear plan is to continue giving Lemke minutes at the highest level. However, with serious competition at left-back from David Möller Wolfe and Miro Muheim, the teenager will occasionally continue to feature in the Regionalliga as well.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.