Topp hat-trick in friendly between first team and U23s

The game consisted of two halves of 30 minutes and ended 4-2 to the U23s. Keke Topp, who is part of the first-team squad but has only featured for the reserves this season, scored a hat-trick for Jakob Fimpel’s team (22’, 35’, 50’). Sebastian Polter (8’) and Bryan Lasme (19’) got the goals for the first team, with Nelson Amadin (9’) grabbing the other goal for the U23s.

However, the result was not the most important thing at full-time. “It was important for us to allow the boys who haven’t had much time on the pitch to make an appearance,” Gerald Asamoah explained. Yusuf Kabadayi appeared for the first time in a S04 shirt in the training match. The new arrival from Munich played for the U23s before the half-time break, before taking his place on the first team’s left flank in the second half.

At the same time, two goalkeepers celebrated their comeback. Ralf Fährmann, who has been missing recently due to a calf strain, played the entire game in goal for the first team. On the opposition side, Justin Heekeren played 60 minutes in goal for the U23s. The 22-year-old picked up a lateral meniscus as well as a crucial ligament injury in his right knee during the winter training camp in Belek in Turkey. Thomas Ouwejan was also back on the pitch. The left-back had to sit out during the 3-1 win in Braunschweig in the first round of the DFB-Pokal due to a calf problem.