Bundesliga round 15: Stuttgart 0 - 0 HSV
Wächter top as HSV battles for a point
HSV battled its way to a deserved point away to the Bundesliga high-flyers Stuttgart this afternoon. A crowd of 41,000 in the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion saw the home side have their first chance in the second half, due to some fine defending by coach Klaus Toppmöller's men, who are now undefeated in four Bundesliga matches.
Two changes to starting line-up
Toppmöller made two changes to the side which lost 0-3 away to Bayern Munich in the FA cup third round. Out went Collin Benjamin and Christian Rahn and in came Naohiro Takahara and for the first time since September... Stephan Kling.
Kling marks his territory
The 22 year old Kling made his mark on the game by fouling Stuttgart's shooting-star Andreas Hinkel...a tackle which earned him a yellow card. HSV showed early courage and had the first chance of the match, as on 22 minutes Mehdi Mahdavikia curled a free-kick over the wall and just past the post. The home side upped the tempo and a long range effort after 28 minutes by the veteran Heldt was comfortably dealt with by Stefan Wächter in the HSV goal. The visitors put in a good defensive performance and deserved to go into the half time break on level terms.
Barbarez goes close
HSV improved after the break. On 61 minutes Mahdavikia passed to Barbarez who fired in a fierce shot from nearly 30 yards out, which had Timo Hildebrand producing a top drawer save to keep his side from going behind. Up until that point in time, the much-feared striking duo of Kuranyi and Szabics has been kept well under control by the well organised HSV defence.
Wächter salvages a point
On 70 minutes Kuranyi should have put the home side ahead. A pinpoint cross from Meira found the young striker's head; he could however only head it against Ujfalusi on the ground, instead of into the back of the net. Stuttgart put their foot down but was unable to break down the stubborn HSV defence. A good performance by Wächter salvaged Toppmöller and Co. a point which most football pundits thought unlikely before the match.
Match details:
Stuttgart: Hildebrand - Hinkel, Wenzel, Meira, Lahm - Vranjes (74. Tiffert), Soldo, Hleb, Heldt (66. Centurion) - Szabics, Kuranyi
HSV: Wächter - Reinhardt, Hoogma (82. Benjamin), Ujfalusi - Wicky, Maltritz, Beinlich, Kling - Mahdavikia, Takahara (84. Rahn), Barbarez
Referee: Dr. Franz-Xaver Wack
Att: 41.000
HSV battled its way to a deserved point away to the Bundesliga high-flyers Stuttgart this afternoon. A crowd of 41,000 in the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion saw the home side have their first chance in the second half, due to some fine defending by coach Klaus Toppmöller's men, who are now undefeated in four Bundesliga matches.
Two changes to starting line-up
Toppmöller made two changes to the side which lost 0-3 away to Bayern Munich in the FA cup third round. Out went Collin Benjamin and Christian Rahn and in came Naohiro Takahara and for the first time since September... Stephan Kling.
Kling marks his territory
The 22 year old Kling made his mark on the game by fouling Stuttgart's shooting-star Andreas Hinkel...a tackle which earned him a yellow card. HSV showed early courage and had the first chance of the match, as on 22 minutes Mehdi Mahdavikia curled a free-kick over the wall and just past the post. The home side upped the tempo and a long range effort after 28 minutes by the veteran Heldt was comfortably dealt with by Stefan Wächter in the HSV goal. The visitors put in a good defensive performance and deserved to go into the half time break on level terms.
Barbarez goes close
HSV improved after the break. On 61 minutes Mahdavikia passed to Barbarez who fired in a fierce shot from nearly 30 yards out, which had Timo Hildebrand producing a top drawer save to keep his side from going behind. Up until that point in time, the much-feared striking duo of Kuranyi and Szabics has been kept well under control by the well organised HSV defence.
Wächter salvages a point
On 70 minutes Kuranyi should have put the home side ahead. A pinpoint cross from Meira found the young striker's head; he could however only head it against Ujfalusi on the ground, instead of into the back of the net. Stuttgart put their foot down but was unable to break down the stubborn HSV defence. A good performance by Wächter salvaged Toppmöller and Co. a point which most football pundits thought unlikely before the match.
Match details:
Stuttgart: Hildebrand - Hinkel, Wenzel, Meira, Lahm - Vranjes (74. Tiffert), Soldo, Hleb, Heldt (66. Centurion) - Szabics, Kuranyi
HSV: Wächter - Reinhardt, Hoogma (82. Benjamin), Ujfalusi - Wicky, Maltritz, Beinlich, Kling - Mahdavikia, Takahara (84. Rahn), Barbarez
Referee: Dr. Franz-Xaver Wack
Att: 41.000
