Hoeneß praises fullbacks, addresses state of Danish wingers
In praising his team for their 3-1 win over Wolfsburg over the weekend, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim trainer Sebastian Hoeneß declared himself especially pleased with the number of crosses his fullbacks were able to work into the area.
Prior to the match, Hoeneß also spoke on winger Robert Skov's fall down his depth chart.
After making no effort to disguise his disappointment following two less-than-stellar results in rounds four and five, Sinsheimer trainer Sebastian Hoeneß found himself in a much better mood after his side scored three goals against Wolfsburg on Saturday. For Hoeneß, more impressive than the the three tallies, were the combined number crosses worked into the area by fullbacks David Raum and Pavel Kaderabek.
Prior to the match, Hoeneß also spoke on winger Robert Skov's fall down his depth chart.
Whereas the fullbacks/wingers only supplied only six crosses during the first three match days, they are gradually improving step-by-step. The last three fixtures have seen them produce nearly four times that amount. Against the German Wolves on Saturday, Hoeneß finally thought he saw a sufficient amount.
"I counted a tremendous amount of crosses," Hoeneß noted, "If you have a lot of crosses; a lot of penetrations on the wing, you increase the likelihood of scoring through them. Both [Raum and Kaderabek] are capable of getting dangerous with them."
"We need that," he continued, "time and again moving the opponent and breaking through on the wing."
The game's decisive goal came at the end of a cross. Kaderabek's low-flanker for Christoph Baumgartner was actually a simple enough move; one that was nevertheless dangerous due to the fact that Florian Grillitsch played the ball out of the back out to the wing perfectly.
When it comes to the personnel he prefer to deploy on the wings themselves, Hoeneß acknowledged some problems prior to kickoff on Saturday. The Kraichgauer head-coach ended up using Sargis Adamyan on the left flank due to the fact that Jacob Bruun Larsen, while off to a great start scoring-wise this season, has been having some defending issues.
The fact that Bruun Larsen leapfrogged countryman Robert Skov on the TSG depth chart came as a surprise to many. It appeared as Skov finally had a starting spot locked down after a strong training camp. Hoeneß noted that it looked as if Skov might be trying too hard after joining the team late after the Euros.
Hoeneß said that he liked Skov's performances in relief (two this season), but that overcompensation wasn't necessary.
"Perhaps he feels as if he needs to bring the house down in those few minutes in order to be able to play from the start," the coach noted, "There's been some good training performances and he needs to keep it up along that path, rendering himself a good option as a sub."
Bruun Larsen, who did score in the first two fixtures of the season, sat on the bench for the first time after conceding some bad defensive errors in his own half during the next three fixtures. The 23-year-old came on as a sub in the in 70th against Wolfsburg.