Mohamed Zidan's side conceded in the first-half but laid siege to Stuttgart's areas after the break.

However, they failed to score the equalizer.

"We played well during the first half and we moved forward well with only a few touches of the ball," Veh told a press conference on Saturday.

"HSV pinned us back in our own half after the break, so I consider this victory to be a lucky one."

Zidan was tipped to start the game as top scorer Ivica Olic was ruled out due to injury.

But Hamburg coach Huub Stevens fielded Paolo Guerrero, who suffered a bad flu over the past week, before throwing Zidan with 30 minutes to go.

"I saw a great game and a good HSV team," Stevens said.

"Of course we made some mistakes. We especially failed to hit the target, which is why we return to Hamburg empty handed."