Teams | March 9, 2014 at 09:57 PM
Deserved away point
Deserved away point
Mainz 05 and Hertha BSC drew their Bundesliga matchday 24 encounter 1-1 on Sunday evening.
Mainz - The final game of Bundesliga matchday 24 saw Hertha take on Mainz at the sold out Coface-Arena (29.760) on Sunday evening (09.03.14). There were two points between the teams before kick off and that margin remained after the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Berlin boss Jos Luhukay made two changes to his starting line-up which drew 0-0 at home against SC Freiburg last weekend: Änis Ben-Hatira and Tolga Cigerci missed out through injury and were replaced by Fabian Holland at left back, while Per Skjelbred played in midfield. Nobody expected Holland to start the game as he has hardly featured this season. The game was more special for one Hertha player in particular: Sami Allagui returned to face his old club for whom he played for two years before moving to Berlin.
Both teams played a high tempo game from the off. Both looked useful until they reached each other's penalty area where moves seemed to fizzle out. Both defences were tight, making life tough for the men up front. That meant that long range shots became the order of the day, but they were harmless too. Visiting keeper Thomas Kraft raced out of his goal as Nikolai Müller bore down on him alone. The keeper made a sliding tackle some forty metres out (!) to keep Hertha on level terms.
Allagui misses best Hertha chance
Hertha's keeper was called into action on several more occasions after that too, producing a string of superb saves to keep Mainz at bay. Their best chance came as Shawn Parker was denied by Kraft as he unleashed a fierce shot from close range (28.). Hertha managed to calm things down but rarely threatened the home goal. Then on 43 minutes Sami Allagui, who scored twice against his old team in the first meeting in Berlin earlier in the season was denied by a save by home keeper Karius who kept his effort out by using his right boot. There were no goals at the break.
Luhukay brought on Ronny for Marcel Ndjeng at the start of the second half. A sign? Absolutely! The rejuvenated visitors threatened twice early on through Skjelbred and Allagui, before finally breaking the deadlock. Adrian Ramos was superbly played into the Mainz box with a sweet pass from Skjelbred. The Columbian striker didn't hesitate as he let fly with a low shot into the bottom left hand corner of the net for his 15th league goal of the season (51.).
Mainz reply through Choupo-Moting
Sami Allagui made the long trek back to help his defence out but only managed to fell South Korean Park with a late challenge inside the Berlin box. The resulting penalty was coolly dispatched by Choupo-Moting to make it 1-1 on 65 minutes. Hertha began to get on top midway through the second half and all of a sudden their central defender Sebastian Langkamp was inside the Mainz box where he missed his side's best chance since conceding the equalising goal (73.).
Luhukay then replaced Allagui with young striker Sandro Wagner - the man who scored a late winner against Stuttgart. Could lightning strike twice? Sadly not. After a poor first half showing Hertha emerged from the break on a mission. Mainz only created two chances and scored from one of them from the penalty spot. As the referee blew time on the 1-1 draw everyone agreed that the result fitted the way the game was. Hertha are ninth in the table on 36 points. On matchday 25 the capital city side host Hannover 96 at the Olympic stadium in Berlin next Saturday (15.03.14, 3.30 pm).
Both teams played a high tempo game from the off. Both looked useful until they reached each other's penalty area where moves seemed to fizzle out. Both defences were tight, making life tough for the men up front. That meant that long range shots became the order of the day, but they were harmless too. Visiting keeper Thomas Kraft raced out of his goal as Nikolai Müller bore down on him alone. The keeper made a sliding tackle some forty metres out (!) to keep Hertha on level terms.
Allagui misses best Hertha chance
Hertha's keeper was called into action on several more occasions after that too, producing a string of superb saves to keep Mainz at bay. Their best chance came as Shawn Parker was denied by Kraft as he unleashed a fierce shot from close range (28.). Hertha managed to calm things down but rarely threatened the home goal. Then on 43 minutes Sami Allagui, who scored twice against his old team in the first meeting in Berlin earlier in the season was denied by a save by home keeper Karius who kept his effort out by using his right boot. There were no goals at the break.
Luhukay brought on Ronny for Marcel Ndjeng at the start of the second half. A sign? Absolutely! The rejuvenated visitors threatened twice early on through Skjelbred and Allagui, before finally breaking the deadlock. Adrian Ramos was superbly played into the Mainz box with a sweet pass from Skjelbred. The Columbian striker didn't hesitate as he let fly with a low shot into the bottom left hand corner of the net for his 15th league goal of the season (51.).
Mainz reply through Choupo-Moting
Sami Allagui made the long trek back to help his defence out but only managed to fell South Korean Park with a late challenge inside the Berlin box. The resulting penalty was coolly dispatched by Choupo-Moting to make it 1-1 on 65 minutes. Hertha began to get on top midway through the second half and all of a sudden their central defender Sebastian Langkamp was inside the Mainz box where he missed his side's best chance since conceding the equalising goal (73.).
Luhukay then replaced Allagui with young striker Sandro Wagner - the man who scored a late winner against Stuttgart. Could lightning strike twice? Sadly not. After a poor first half showing Hertha emerged from the break on a mission. Mainz only created two chances and scored from one of them from the penalty spot. As the referee blew time on the 1-1 draw everyone agreed that the result fitted the way the game was. Hertha are ninth in the table on 36 points. On matchday 25 the capital city side host Hannover 96 at the Olympic stadium in Berlin next Saturday (15.03.14, 3.30 pm).