Teams | November 6, 2012 at 03:21 PM
Hertha win at last!
Hertha win at last!
Goals by strike partners Allagui and Wagner gave Hertha their first league victory of the new season 2-1.
It was third time lucky for the capital city side on Friday night (24.08.12), as matchday 3 opened with the visit of SSV Jahn Regensburg to the Olympic stadium. Goals by strike partners Allagui and Wagner gave Hertha their first league victory of the new season 2-1.
Hertha boss Jos Luhukay put his faith up front in young duo Sami Allagui and Sandro Wagner. A shrewd decision as it turned out. As expected, young keeper Philp Sprint was between the Berlin posts because regular stoppers Thomas Kraft and Sascha Burchert were still suspended. Because Luhukay's planned-understudy Marius Gersbeck was ruled out with fever, 16 year old Ben Lundt made the bench. Roman Hubnik returned from suspension while Peer Kluge recovered from injury in time to make the starting line-up.
Two goals up at halftime
The newly promoted visitors got almost everyone behind the ball early on. The opening half chance was a wayward effort from distance by Nikita Rukavytsya (6.). Midway through the opening half Jahn finally showed themselves with a long distance shot from Abdenour Amachaibou, which flew well wide of the left hand upright (24.).
Luhukay was forced to make his first substitution after only half an hour, as Fabian Lustenberger came on for Hubnik. Then the ball landed in the back of the Regensburg net but the goal didn't count, because Niemeier had used his hand as a Ben-Hatira free kick was played into the box. The Hertha captain was booked (35.). Six minutes later though the deadlock was finally broken, as Allagui latched onto a long ball from Ben-Hatira, before finishing well from 15 metres out (41.). Ben-Hatira put in another cross and Allagui back-headed the ball into the danger zone, where Wagner had a simple header which gave the home side a 2-0 halftime lead (43.).
Jahn fight back
As the second half got underway the visitors finally opened up, which gave Hertha the chance to hit them on the break. Kluge had the ball taken off his toe in the nick of time as he looked likely to score. The resulting corner came to nothing (47.). After Marcel Ndjeng did well to block an effort by Jonatan Kotzke (49.), Ben-Hatira played an excellent ball behind the defence and into the path of Allagui, who was thwarted in the nick of time by a timely challenge by Jahn's Sebastian (55.).
On 58 minutes the visitors scored out of the blue and against the run of play. A long hopeful punt forward by Jahn substitute Oliver Hein found Francky Sembolo, who beat home keeper Sprint by heading the ball over him and into the net. That goal didn't change things. Hertha remained on top but struggled to find the final telling pass to their strikers. A ball played into the Regensburg box by Ben-Hatira was only partially cleared and the ball fell to Wagner, whose shot only landed in the arms of visiting stopper Michael Hoffmann (75.).
Derby time!
Hertha easily played out the remaining minutes to record their first Bundesliga 2 win of the season. The team are in action again a week on Monday (03.09.12), as the first Berlin derby of the season against cross town rivals Union Berlin will be played at the Alten Försterei stadium on matchday 4.
Hertha boss Jos Luhukay put his faith up front in young duo Sami Allagui and Sandro Wagner. A shrewd decision as it turned out. As expected, young keeper Philp Sprint was between the Berlin posts because regular stoppers Thomas Kraft and Sascha Burchert were still suspended. Because Luhukay's planned-understudy Marius Gersbeck was ruled out with fever, 16 year old Ben Lundt made the bench. Roman Hubnik returned from suspension while Peer Kluge recovered from injury in time to make the starting line-up.
Two goals up at halftime
The newly promoted visitors got almost everyone behind the ball early on. The opening half chance was a wayward effort from distance by Nikita Rukavytsya (6.). Midway through the opening half Jahn finally showed themselves with a long distance shot from Abdenour Amachaibou, which flew well wide of the left hand upright (24.).
Luhukay was forced to make his first substitution after only half an hour, as Fabian Lustenberger came on for Hubnik. Then the ball landed in the back of the Regensburg net but the goal didn't count, because Niemeier had used his hand as a Ben-Hatira free kick was played into the box. The Hertha captain was booked (35.). Six minutes later though the deadlock was finally broken, as Allagui latched onto a long ball from Ben-Hatira, before finishing well from 15 metres out (41.). Ben-Hatira put in another cross and Allagui back-headed the ball into the danger zone, where Wagner had a simple header which gave the home side a 2-0 halftime lead (43.).
Jahn fight back
As the second half got underway the visitors finally opened up, which gave Hertha the chance to hit them on the break. Kluge had the ball taken off his toe in the nick of time as he looked likely to score. The resulting corner came to nothing (47.). After Marcel Ndjeng did well to block an effort by Jonatan Kotzke (49.), Ben-Hatira played an excellent ball behind the defence and into the path of Allagui, who was thwarted in the nick of time by a timely challenge by Jahn's Sebastian (55.).
On 58 minutes the visitors scored out of the blue and against the run of play. A long hopeful punt forward by Jahn substitute Oliver Hein found Francky Sembolo, who beat home keeper Sprint by heading the ball over him and into the net. That goal didn't change things. Hertha remained on top but struggled to find the final telling pass to their strikers. A ball played into the Regensburg box by Ben-Hatira was only partially cleared and the ball fell to Wagner, whose shot only landed in the arms of visiting stopper Michael Hoffmann (75.).
Derby time!
Hertha easily played out the remaining minutes to record their first Bundesliga 2 win of the season. The team are in action again a week on Monday (03.09.12), as the first Berlin derby of the season against cross town rivals Union Berlin will be played at the Alten Försterei stadium on matchday 4.