Teams | November 26, 2012 at 01:23 AM
No title on Sunday
No title on Sunday
The last time Hertha played in Aue (08.05.2011), they were crowned division two champions.
It was matchday 33 of the 2010/11 Bundesliga 2 season.On May 8th 2011 Hertha BSC were on their travels at Erzgebirge Aue. The capital city side had secured promotion back to the top flight two games beforehand, but in Aue a real highlight awaited the team and their huge contingent of travelling fans. Adrian Ramos opened the scoring on 14 minutes with a superb long range effort, before Canadian hitman Rob Friend doubled the lead a minute shy of halftime with a classy chip over Aue keeper Martin Männel. Hertha won the game 2-0 and were crowned Bundesliga 2 champions. Happy days!
The title will not be decided on Sunday (25.11.12, 13:30 CET), as the teams meet again on matchday 15 of the 2012/13 season, but a positive result would take Hertha a step closer to their dream of winning promotion back to the Bundesliga at the first attempt again. The visitors are also keen to extend the club record of 12 unbeaten games they set up by beating St.Pauli 1-0 at home last time out.
Beichler injured again – Lasogga training again
Jos Luhukay will not have all of his charges at his disposal in Aue. In-form Slovakian defender Peter Pekarik misses out, after injuring his right shoulder seconds before the final whistle against Pauli. He was examined by Munich-based shoulder specialist Professor Peter Habermeyer on Wednesday (21.11). Habermeyer also operated on Maik Franz. Hertha team physician Dr. Uli Schleicher: "The shoulder has been stabilised and everything went well." The Slovakian international will miss the rest of the first half of the current season. Luhukay has yet to decide who to play in his place on Sunday. The coach: "Marcel Ndjeng and Fabian Lustenberger are the options. I am tending towards Marcel because he played that role earlier in the season. Fabian has been been playing superbly in central defence over recent weeks and is very important to us there."
There was some positive news to report this week too: Pierre-Michel Lasogga trained for the first time with the first team since his cruciate ligament surgery. The young striker is however light years away from a comeback: "It is great to have Pierrer back training with us. He needs three to four weeks of full training in order to become fit during the winter break", said Luhukay at the pre-match press conference on Thursday (22.11.12). Also out of the Aue trip are suspended Georgian Levan Kobiashvili, and the injured trio of Alfredo Morales, Christoph Janker and Maik Franz. Shervin R. Fardi is like Lasogga back in training. Daniel Beichler injured himself playing for the reserves against Jena (0-1), and will be out for two to three weeks with a torn hamstring.
Aue strong at home
Aue are especially strong at home playing at the Sparkassen Erzgebirgsstadion, as Luhukay is well aware. The Dutchman: "Aue are a class act at home. They have collected the majority of their points from home games with their amazing fans get behind them. They play with heart and passion and will ask many questions of us on Sunday." Luhukay is demanding that his team: "Put plenty of effort into our performance. We want to keep it tight at the back while at the same time do well going forward. That way we can be successful in Aue."
The players are also focused on the job at hand. Hertha keeper Thomas Kraft: "I think Aue will try to make life difficult for us. They are an uncomfortable side to play. Their season has not gone too well so they will be battling for every point to avoid relegation." Former Hertha midfielder Oliver Schröder is under contract at Aue and said before the game against his former club: "We will get stuck in at home, but Hertha have a fine run going so it will be tough for us. We will have to play out of our skins if we are to take anything from the game."
Possible line-ups:
Erzgebirge Aue: Männel - Schröder, Rau, Klingbeil, Schlitte - Fa. Müller, Höfler, Hensel, Hochscheidt - Sylvestr, Könnecke
Hertha BSC: Kraft - Holland, Lustenberger, Brooks, Ndjeng - Sahar, Kluge, Niemeyer, Ronny, Schulz - Ramos
The title will not be decided on Sunday (25.11.12, 13:30 CET), as the teams meet again on matchday 15 of the 2012/13 season, but a positive result would take Hertha a step closer to their dream of winning promotion back to the Bundesliga at the first attempt again. The visitors are also keen to extend the club record of 12 unbeaten games they set up by beating St.Pauli 1-0 at home last time out.
Beichler injured again – Lasogga training again
Jos Luhukay will not have all of his charges at his disposal in Aue. In-form Slovakian defender Peter Pekarik misses out, after injuring his right shoulder seconds before the final whistle against Pauli. He was examined by Munich-based shoulder specialist Professor Peter Habermeyer on Wednesday (21.11). Habermeyer also operated on Maik Franz. Hertha team physician Dr. Uli Schleicher: "The shoulder has been stabilised and everything went well." The Slovakian international will miss the rest of the first half of the current season. Luhukay has yet to decide who to play in his place on Sunday. The coach: "Marcel Ndjeng and Fabian Lustenberger are the options. I am tending towards Marcel because he played that role earlier in the season. Fabian has been been playing superbly in central defence over recent weeks and is very important to us there."
There was some positive news to report this week too: Pierre-Michel Lasogga trained for the first time with the first team since his cruciate ligament surgery. The young striker is however light years away from a comeback: "It is great to have Pierrer back training with us. He needs three to four weeks of full training in order to become fit during the winter break", said Luhukay at the pre-match press conference on Thursday (22.11.12). Also out of the Aue trip are suspended Georgian Levan Kobiashvili, and the injured trio of Alfredo Morales, Christoph Janker and Maik Franz. Shervin R. Fardi is like Lasogga back in training. Daniel Beichler injured himself playing for the reserves against Jena (0-1), and will be out for two to three weeks with a torn hamstring.
Aue strong at home
Aue are especially strong at home playing at the Sparkassen Erzgebirgsstadion, as Luhukay is well aware. The Dutchman: "Aue are a class act at home. They have collected the majority of their points from home games with their amazing fans get behind them. They play with heart and passion and will ask many questions of us on Sunday." Luhukay is demanding that his team: "Put plenty of effort into our performance. We want to keep it tight at the back while at the same time do well going forward. That way we can be successful in Aue."
The players are also focused on the job at hand. Hertha keeper Thomas Kraft: "I think Aue will try to make life difficult for us. They are an uncomfortable side to play. Their season has not gone too well so they will be battling for every point to avoid relegation." Former Hertha midfielder Oliver Schröder is under contract at Aue and said before the game against his former club: "We will get stuck in at home, but Hertha have a fine run going so it will be tough for us. We will have to play out of our skins if we are to take anything from the game."
Possible line-ups:
Erzgebirge Aue: Männel - Schröder, Rau, Klingbeil, Schlitte - Fa. Müller, Höfler, Hensel, Hochscheidt - Sylvestr, Könnecke
Hertha BSC: Kraft - Holland, Lustenberger, Brooks, Ndjeng - Sahar, Kluge, Niemeyer, Ronny, Schulz - Ramos