Werkself review #HSVB04: Reward for committed performance

"We played with pace and patience today. That was the decisive factor," said managing director sport Simon Rolfes following the 1-0 win at Hamburger SV in the rearranged match on Wednesday night. Although the Werkself still had room for improvement in terms of capitalising on their chances against the Red Shorts, they produced a different display to last time out and were rewarded for a concentrated performance over 90 minutes. The Werkself review features reaction to the game, including from a happy starting XI debutant, as well as the match stats.

Summary: Dynamism and determination secure important win

The Werkself were dynamic and convincing in their pressing from the start and created several opportunities early on. The most promising of these were created by Montrell Culbreath, making his first start, on eight minutes plus Martin Terrier (13’) and Ibrahim Maza (15’). The latter was even allegedly fouled in the opposition penalty area, but the Hamburg player's offence began just outside the area, prompting referee Sören Storks to withdraw his penalty decision after the intervention of VAR. After that, the Black and Reds dominated possession but none of the efforts on goal found the back of the net. It was the same in the second half - and the deserved reward finally came. First, an Edmond Tapsoba strike was chalked off due to a handball in the build-up. Then, on 73 minutes, Christian Kofan e scored the opener and only goal of the game - and keeper Janis Blaswich made a brilliant save to deny Lukas Vuskovic in the final seconds of added time to secure the away win.

Reaction: "We have to carry on like that"

Kasper Hjulmand said at the post-match press conference: "We played well against a very proactive team. I liked what I saw today. We were active in pressing right from the start, won a lot of high balls, but then didn't score for a long time. That came in the second half. So I'm happy overall, the three points are very important for us." HSV coach Merlin Polzin also paid tribute to Bayer 04 for their performance, describing the Werkself as "an absolutely top team that absolutely deserved to win today" and concluded by wishing them every success in the UEFA Champions League in order to "keep the German flag flying high for us in this competition".

Speaking in the mixed zone, managing director sport Simon Rolfes also saw the three points as important and deserved: "We played with pace and patience today. That was the decisive factor." The 44-year-old added: "We enjoyed the game, pressed with more intensity and then, above all, played forward quickly. That gave us a lot of chances, which we created well but then we had to capitalise on them. The result could have been sealed earlier. I think we did really well. We have to carry on like that now."

After the final whistle, captain Robert Andrich spoke to the media: "The pressure was on because we obviously want to stay up there in the table. Accordingly, you could see that we wanted it straight away. The way we played was very simple, but very good. It was hard work, but it was also a deserved win."

Post-match reaction
Post-match press conference

What the papers say: Top marks and praise for captain Andrich

The Bild newspaper reported: "In the end, the victory for the Werkself was deserved because they were the superior team for long stretches and clearly did more for the game." The kicker headlined: "Kofane seals deserved three points for the Werkself". In the individual critique, the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger awarded three top marks - to Blaswich, Maza and Andrich - and wrote about the captain: "One of the best games by the international with World Cup ambitions in recent times. Completely cancelled out former FC Köln player Damion Downs." The Rheinische Post wrote: "Bayer Leverkusen put in a committed performance in the rearranged match at Hamburger Sportverein and were rewarded with their first win in the Bundesliga since mid-February." And the Frankfurter Rundschau said the Werkself had "reversed the trend."

Personnel: Culbreath impresses in first start

After his appearances against RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga - including a goal - and twice against Olympiacos in the Champions League, Montrell Culbreath now made his first start for the senior team. On Werkself TV, the 18-year-old revealed how he felt shortly before kick-off: "For me, this is also a sign of the club's great appreciation and is not something to be taken for granted. Of course, I was a little nervous at first. But then Eddy (Edmond Tapsoba, ed.) came to me again before kick-off and said that I should just play my game, just like in training. After that, I was able to quickly forget about the backdrop."

His coach had words of praise after the game: "Montrell has come off the bench from time to time, has always played very well and generally trained very well. The injuries to Arthur and Lucas (Lucas Vázquez, ed.) have opened up this option. He's fresh, positive, attacking and really wants to play football. I like that. We need exactly that mentality."

Stats: Not only ahead on the scoreboard

The stats demonstrate Bayer 04's (clear) superiority: 14 to 10 shots on goal with 63 per cent possession and pass completion of 84 per cent (HSV: 75 per cent). Leverkusen also won 52 per cent of all duels.

Next up: Away to SC Freiburg

Andrich and Co. continue with another away game on Saturday, 7 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET), at SC Freiburg. They then face Arsenal, Bayern Munich and FC Heidenheim before the final international break of the season.