Hamburger SV captain Yussuf Poulsen has expressed his joy for Ghanaian forward Ransford Yeboah-Königsdörffer after the youngster finally ended his long goal drought in the Bundesliga.
The 23-year-old had faced mounting criticism following a nine-game barren spell that saw him drop to the bench. But on Saturday, he silenced his doubters ; coming off the bench to power home a superb header and earn Hamburg a crucial draw against Borussia Dortmund.
Poulsen, speaking after the match, praised Yeboah-Konigsdorffer’s persistence and attitude in training.
“A deserved point. Ransi has done really well in recent weeks. Today he came on from a different role and sometimes that helps. A fantastic finish. I’m absolutely delighted for him — he’s a great guy and we get on really well,” the skipper said.
“I’ve always said his goal would come because he works hard for the team. Eventually, he was going to be rewarded for that. Some of you were a bit hard on him.”
Yeboah-Konigsdorffer, who was born in Germany but represents Ghana internationally, has now scored twice this season — with his first coming in the DFB Pokal.
Hamburg coach Merlin Polzin also lauded the forward’s impact, saying:
“Football writes its own stories, and today it wrote one with Ransi’s goal. A really successful afternoon for us and a result we’re very happy about.”