Barbarez the difference for Hamburg

By Mark Bennett

Sending off
Barbarez looked sharp up front throughout this first-leg match in the sold-out AOL Arena and headed in a Rafael van der Vaart cross on 51 minutes to give the Bundesliga side the lead. However, five minutes from the end he tainted his match-winning performance when receiving a second yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Slow start
After a slow start to the match, Hamburg were the first to increase the tempo. On nine minutes, Van der Vaart broke down the left wing and sent in a low cross but Carlos Marchena managed to deflect the ball before Barbarez could make contact. Then, 60 seconds later, Van der Vaart released Emile Mpenza but his shot took a deflection off Roberto Ayala and only found the crossbar.

Jarolim denied
Hamburg continued to look the better side and on 32 minutes Mpenza squared the ball for David Jarolim in the penalty area but he was denied by a great save from Santiago Cañizares. Six minutes after the break Hamburg’s pressure finally paid off. Another great free-kick from Van der Vaart was met by Barbarez and the stand-in captain, with Daniel Van Buyten out injured, made no mistake this time.

Tempers flare
Tempers flared in the dying minutes as Valencia tried to salvage at least a draw and as a result Barbarez was sent off after a second bookable offence. The Spanish side almost cashed in on their numerical advantage immediately when Mista's shot was cleared off the line by Khalid Boulahrouz two minutes from the end, but they will now have to hope for better in the return at the Mestalla on 23 August.