FIRST TEAM
01/08/2013

1-0 win over Rotterdam - TSG start 2013 with a victory

TSG have made a successful start to the new year. Marco Kurz's side beat Dutch second division team Sparta Rotterdam 1-0 in a friendly match at their Portuguese training camp. The only goal of the game came from Sejad Salihovic's penalty in the 21st minute. Both sides played good football in perfect conditions in a small stadium in Guia, a suburb of the Albufeira resort.

TSG, with debutant Luis Advincula in the starting line-up, looked committed and compact in their play from the start and gave the Dutch opponents very few opportunities. The side from Kraichgau had their first chance within just five minutes, but Salihovic's free kick from 22 yards was saved by the Rotterdam keeper. Eren Derdiyok then missed a header around the quarter-of-an-hour mark, but it wasn't much longer before TSG found the opener. A good bit of interchanging was stopped when Sparta central defender van Berkel handled the ball inside the area. Salihovic stepped up and despatched the penalty to put his team in front.

Just minutes later, Kurz was forced to make his first change of the game. Marvin Compper was suffering from a minor adductor injury and was replaced by Patrick Ochs, who played in an unfamiliar left-back position. Takashi Usami had a chance before the break but his long-range effort drifted wide of the far post.

Lots of changes shape the second half

Sparta Rotterdam made nine changes at the half-way stage, while TSG introduced three new faces in Casteels (Salihovic took over the captain's armband from Wiese), Gregoritsch and Joselu. Schipplock, Streker and Grifo were also brought on later in the game. The match lost its fluency due to the numerous substitutions, but Hoffenheim still created good chances through a Salihovic free kick, a Usami long-range shot and a Schipplock header, but couldn't add to the scoreline. Sparta Rotterdam on the other hand hardly created an opportunity, and TSG were comfortable winners, despite the close result.

Marco Kurz: “First and foremost, we wanted to win, but it was also important for us that we put what we have been learning on the training pitch into practice, both in defence and attack. I think we did that really well in the first half. I feel that we were relatively solid throughout the game and did well to keep a clean sheet. Nevertheless, we need to be a little more active in the final third. We've been training very intensively so far and we had a decent rhythm to our play. That's particularly pleasing!”

Andreas Beck: “We've all got heavy legs and almost everyone has muscle ache. Nevertheless, we want to use the matches to reach the right level of play and keep our concentration high when we're tired. Thankfully we won the game. I think it was a performance that we can build upon.”

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim: Wiese (46' Casteels) – Beck, Williams, Vestergaard, Compper (28' Ochs) – Salihovic (66' Streker), Weis – Advincula (46' Gregoritsch), Volland (60' Schipplock), Usami (66' Grifo) – Derdiyok (46' Joselu)

Sparta Rotterdam: Kortsmit (46' Pellatz) – Nys (46' Dijkhuizen), Luirink (46' van Boxel), van Berkel, Slijngard – Nieuwendaal (46' Van Son) – van Hout (46' Gladon), Bel Hassani (46' Mahi), Peeters (46' De Nooijer), Deekman (46' Martinus) – Calabro (46' Bilate)

Goals: 1-0 Salihovic (21', pen.)

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