Teams | March 1, 2013 at 08:55 PM
Hertha expecting “hot” reception in Dresden
Hertha expecting “hot” reception in Dresden
The Bundesliga 2 leaders can expect a heated reception away to Dynamo Dresden on matchday 24 on Saturday.
Berlin - On Saturday (02.03.13, 13.00 CET), Hertha BSC take on lowly Dynamo Dresden in a Bundesliga 2 matchday 24 encounter at the glücksgas stadion. The players and coach Jos Luhukay can expect a heated and not particularly friendly reception there. A huge crowd in the region of 30,000 is expected to attend the game, and their vociferous support of the home team in known throughout German football.
"The atmosphere in Dresden is something special. The whole stadium will be against us and will stand behind the home side like a wall", knows Hertha midfielder Marvin Knoll, who was on loan there last season. Knoll is disappointed not to have made the squad for the trip to his former club: "There will be a lot going on there", Luhukay told the media at the pre-match press conference on Friday. The Dutchman knows that his team is in for a tough game. He said: "You don't beat Dresden simply by turning up." Luhukay does not understand why Dresden are third bottom of the table before kick off. He pointed out: "They have more quality in their ranks than their position in the table suggests. They have good individual players." Dynamo striker Mickaël Poté, who has half a dozen goals to his name is according to Hertha's coach: "One of the best strikers in the league."
No comparison to Lautern game
Luhukay has an almost full fit squad to pick his team from. Czech defender Roman Hubnik is still sidelined with a bout of flu. Those not in the squad include: Knoll, Sami Allagui, Ben Sahar, Hany Mukhtar, Felix Bastians and Christoph Janker. The 1-0 Hertha victory over Dresden at the Olympic stadium earlier in the season was the first ever meeting between the two teams. That day an own goal by Roman Brégerie gave Hertha all three points. Dresden have failed to score in ten of their games so far this season and now face the team with the best defensive record in Bundesliga 2. Hertha's miserly back men have only conceded 18 goals in 23 games so far.
Hertha will have to change their tactics after beating third placed Kaiserslautern 1-0 at home last time out. Luhukay knows: "It is not easy to change your game within only a few days. But we have played well against other sides in the nether regions of the table.” Nico Schulz, who returned to the team against Lautern after injury says: "It will be a completely different game in Dresden that the one against Lautern. It will be more of a tough battle."
Dynamo's home "hang up"
Hertha must prepare to do battle if they are to record what would be a seventh consecutive away win. Dynamo keeper Benjamin Kirsten - son of 3-time Bundesliga top scorer Ulf Kirsten underlined that his side will not be making life easy for the visitors from the capital city. The stopper: "We will do everything in our power to stop Hertha dominating the game. We want to achieve success by fighting hard with the vociferous support of our fans behind us.” A glance at the home stats of Dresden reveals that they have struggled to score at home this term. They only have eleven home goals to their name – easily the worst record in Bundesliga 2.
Luhukay is relishing Saturday's game. He had the last word at the press conference as he told the media: "We want to take the confidence gained by beating Lautern with us to Dresden. We have finally overtaken Braunschweig and want to keep things that way."
Possible line-ups
Dynamo Dresden: Kirsten – Jungwirth, Brégerie, Savic, Schuppan – Ouali, Losilla, Solga, Trojan – Kitambala, Poté
Hertha BSC: Kraft – Pekarik, Lustenberger, Brooks, Holland – Niemeyer, Kluge – Ndjeng, Ronny, Schulz – Ramos
"The atmosphere in Dresden is something special. The whole stadium will be against us and will stand behind the home side like a wall", knows Hertha midfielder Marvin Knoll, who was on loan there last season. Knoll is disappointed not to have made the squad for the trip to his former club: "There will be a lot going on there", Luhukay told the media at the pre-match press conference on Friday. The Dutchman knows that his team is in for a tough game. He said: "You don't beat Dresden simply by turning up." Luhukay does not understand why Dresden are third bottom of the table before kick off. He pointed out: "They have more quality in their ranks than their position in the table suggests. They have good individual players." Dynamo striker Mickaël Poté, who has half a dozen goals to his name is according to Hertha's coach: "One of the best strikers in the league."
No comparison to Lautern game
Luhukay has an almost full fit squad to pick his team from. Czech defender Roman Hubnik is still sidelined with a bout of flu. Those not in the squad include: Knoll, Sami Allagui, Ben Sahar, Hany Mukhtar, Felix Bastians and Christoph Janker. The 1-0 Hertha victory over Dresden at the Olympic stadium earlier in the season was the first ever meeting between the two teams. That day an own goal by Roman Brégerie gave Hertha all three points. Dresden have failed to score in ten of their games so far this season and now face the team with the best defensive record in Bundesliga 2. Hertha's miserly back men have only conceded 18 goals in 23 games so far.
Hertha will have to change their tactics after beating third placed Kaiserslautern 1-0 at home last time out. Luhukay knows: "It is not easy to change your game within only a few days. But we have played well against other sides in the nether regions of the table.” Nico Schulz, who returned to the team against Lautern after injury says: "It will be a completely different game in Dresden that the one against Lautern. It will be more of a tough battle."
Dynamo's home "hang up"
Hertha must prepare to do battle if they are to record what would be a seventh consecutive away win. Dynamo keeper Benjamin Kirsten - son of 3-time Bundesliga top scorer Ulf Kirsten underlined that his side will not be making life easy for the visitors from the capital city. The stopper: "We will do everything in our power to stop Hertha dominating the game. We want to achieve success by fighting hard with the vociferous support of our fans behind us.” A glance at the home stats of Dresden reveals that they have struggled to score at home this term. They only have eleven home goals to their name – easily the worst record in Bundesliga 2.
Luhukay is relishing Saturday's game. He had the last word at the press conference as he told the media: "We want to take the confidence gained by beating Lautern with us to Dresden. We have finally overtaken Braunschweig and want to keep things that way."
Possible line-ups
Dynamo Dresden: Kirsten – Jungwirth, Brégerie, Savic, Schuppan – Ouali, Losilla, Solga, Trojan – Kitambala, Poté
Hertha BSC: Kraft – Pekarik, Lustenberger, Brooks, Holland – Niemeyer, Kluge – Ndjeng, Ronny, Schulz – Ramos