Hakan Calhanoglu's shoot-on-sight policy paid off as HSV edged out Bayer 04 at the Imtech Arena
Hakan Calhanoglu's shoot-on-sight policy paid off as HSV edged out Bayer 04 at the Imtech Arena

Calhanoglu: 'A hard-earned win'

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Hamburg - If you don't shoot, you won't score: Hamburger SV's proved that beyond any doubt against Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Friday night.

The 20-year-old's shoot-on-sight policy was the catalyst for a much-needed 2-1 win at the Imtech Arena and even rubbed off on unlikely matchwinner Heiko Westermann. Here's what HSV's jubilant sharpshooter had to say after the game...

Question: Hakan Calhanoglu, it must be a great relief to have got the win against Leverkusen?

Calhanoglu: It was a really important and hard-earned win. We knew we'd rediscovered our home form and really wanted to win. It was also important to score first. We conceded an unfortunate equaliser, but we didn't let our heads drop. Instead, we dug deep and fought hard.

Question: It could have ended badly for Rene Adler. What did you make of his error?

Calhanoglu: Goals like that can happen because the ball moves so much in the air, but Rene made some great saves afterwards to secure us the three points.

Question: And it was Heiko Westermann who came up with the winner...

Calhanoglu: I'm especially pleased it was Heiko who scored. He's a great guy with a big heart.

Question: How big a role did the fans have to play in the win?

Calhanoglu: A huge role. They really got behind us. When times are hard, we need them.

Question: It was a perfect day for you against Leverkusen. You kept having a go and scored a goal. Are you happy with your performance?

Calhanoglu: I kept shooting because we really wanted the three points today. Now we've got them, I'm sure we'll pull away from the bottom. We've got to crack on next week against Hannover.

Michael Reis reporting from Hamburg


Hakan Calhanoglu's stunning goal was worthy of its place in this week's Top 5 Goals on the official Bundesliga YouTube channel: