Teams | August 18, 2014 at 02:33 AM
Hertha BSC reach DFB Cup second round
Hertha BSC reach DFB Cup second round
Hertha progressed after beating Viktoria Köln 4-2.
Cologne - The long wait finally came to an end on Saturday afternoon (16.08.14, 3.30 pm) as Hertha BSC kicked off the 2014/15 season with a DFB Cup first round encounter away to lower-league side Viktoria Köln.
Travelling Hertha fans raised their eyebrows somewhat as the team was announced. After all the likes of Ronny, Nico Schulz and Peter Niemeyer had not featured in recent games. The fist Berlin chance of the game came on 7 minutes as Julian Schieber was played into space on the edge of Viktoria's box. The young striker was thwarted by ex-Hertha stopper Nico Pellatz between the home posts. The home side then began to flood midfield, which forced Hertha to use their wings more. The capital city side won a succession of corner kicks - none of which came to anything. Hertha hearts were in mouths on 21 minutes as the home side broke down the right before putting a crisp low ball into Hertha's penalty area which was put away by Viktoria striker Faith Candan. Luckily the flag had been raised beforehand for offside.
Ronny opens the scoring
That incident served as a wake up call for the visitors. On 25 minutes midfield man Ronny found Genki Haraguchi, who could only pull his shot wide of the left hand upright. The Brazilian wnet one better shortly afterwards. Niemeyer won possession in midfield from where he nodded the ball to Ronny, who took a couple of steps before unleashing a left foot shot which flew into the net by way of the underside of the crossbar: 1-0 to Hertha (33.)! That opener made the visitors want more and they pressed forward in search of a second goal. On 41 minutes their efforts were rewarded as Roy Beerens won the ball on the edge of the home box. The striker was initially blocked but the Dutchman recovered well to superbly chip the ball into the net at the far post to give Hertha a deserved 2-0 halftime lead.
Both teams emerged for the second half unchanged. It was clear that the home side had been read the riot act during the break as they made a determined start to the second half, bravely pushing forward whenever they could. Only a last ditch headed clearance by Hertha's Hajime Hosogai just short of his own goal line prevented the minnows from scoring (49.). Three minutes later though Hertha struck again as Ronny found Genki Haraguchi with a wonderful through ball. The latter rounded keeper Pellatz before finishing well from an acute angle to make it 3-0 to the visitors (52.). Viktoria however did not give up and were finally rewarded for their endeavour. Striker Candan found space down the left wing and passed the ball to Mike Wunderlich who drilled the ball into the bottom right hand corner from the left side of the Berlin box to pull a goal back (57.). Then home left back Andreas Schäfer let fly, only to see his fierce effort pushed around a post for a corner by Berlin stopper Thomas Kraft (60.).
Minnows fight back
Those chances boosted the confidence of the home side who pushed on wanting more. The next chance however fell to Ronny, who pulled a shot wide of the near post (67.). Ten minutes later Viktoria scored again: Candan finished well from inside the box to make it 3-2. Hertha remained focused and threatened again on 69 minutes as Schieber fed Haraguchi whose shot flew narrowly wide of target. The Hertha duo did better shortly afterwards, as Haraguchi got a shot away whilst falling. The effort struck a post, but Schieber was on hand to score from the rebound (76.). That blow finally broke the stubborn resistance of the home side who continued to press forward but without the bite they had previously displayed. Hertha played out the remaining minutes to deservedly win 4-2 and reach the second round of the 2014/15 DFB Cup.
Match details:
Hertha BSC: Kraft - Pekarik (K), Heitinga, Langkamp, Schulz - Niemeyer, Hosogai (86. Hegeler) - Beerens, Ronny (80. Baumjohann), Haraguchi - Schieber (78. Ben-Hatira)
Viktoria Köln: Pellatz - Koronkiewicz, Brzenska, Reiche, Schäfer (85. Löhden) - Staffeldt (K), Dej - Pagano (85. Assauer), Nottbeck (61. Röttger), Wunderlich - Candan
Goals: 0:1 Ronny (33.), 0:2 Beerens (41.), 0:3 Haraguchi (52.), 1:3 Wunderlich (57.), 2:3 Candan (67.), 2:4 Schieber (76.)
Booked: Candan (62.), Hickl (77.), Reiche (90.) - Kraft (90.)
Referee: Arne Aarnik (Nordhorn)
Venue: Sportpark Höhenberg, Köln
Att: 5.239
Travelling Hertha fans raised their eyebrows somewhat as the team was announced. After all the likes of Ronny, Nico Schulz and Peter Niemeyer had not featured in recent games. The fist Berlin chance of the game came on 7 minutes as Julian Schieber was played into space on the edge of Viktoria's box. The young striker was thwarted by ex-Hertha stopper Nico Pellatz between the home posts. The home side then began to flood midfield, which forced Hertha to use their wings more. The capital city side won a succession of corner kicks - none of which came to anything. Hertha hearts were in mouths on 21 minutes as the home side broke down the right before putting a crisp low ball into Hertha's penalty area which was put away by Viktoria striker Faith Candan. Luckily the flag had been raised beforehand for offside.
Ronny opens the scoring
That incident served as a wake up call for the visitors. On 25 minutes midfield man Ronny found Genki Haraguchi, who could only pull his shot wide of the left hand upright. The Brazilian wnet one better shortly afterwards. Niemeyer won possession in midfield from where he nodded the ball to Ronny, who took a couple of steps before unleashing a left foot shot which flew into the net by way of the underside of the crossbar: 1-0 to Hertha (33.)! That opener made the visitors want more and they pressed forward in search of a second goal. On 41 minutes their efforts were rewarded as Roy Beerens won the ball on the edge of the home box. The striker was initially blocked but the Dutchman recovered well to superbly chip the ball into the net at the far post to give Hertha a deserved 2-0 halftime lead.
Both teams emerged for the second half unchanged. It was clear that the home side had been read the riot act during the break as they made a determined start to the second half, bravely pushing forward whenever they could. Only a last ditch headed clearance by Hertha's Hajime Hosogai just short of his own goal line prevented the minnows from scoring (49.). Three minutes later though Hertha struck again as Ronny found Genki Haraguchi with a wonderful through ball. The latter rounded keeper Pellatz before finishing well from an acute angle to make it 3-0 to the visitors (52.). Viktoria however did not give up and were finally rewarded for their endeavour. Striker Candan found space down the left wing and passed the ball to Mike Wunderlich who drilled the ball into the bottom right hand corner from the left side of the Berlin box to pull a goal back (57.). Then home left back Andreas Schäfer let fly, only to see his fierce effort pushed around a post for a corner by Berlin stopper Thomas Kraft (60.).
Minnows fight back
Those chances boosted the confidence of the home side who pushed on wanting more. The next chance however fell to Ronny, who pulled a shot wide of the near post (67.). Ten minutes later Viktoria scored again: Candan finished well from inside the box to make it 3-2. Hertha remained focused and threatened again on 69 minutes as Schieber fed Haraguchi whose shot flew narrowly wide of target. The Hertha duo did better shortly afterwards, as Haraguchi got a shot away whilst falling. The effort struck a post, but Schieber was on hand to score from the rebound (76.). That blow finally broke the stubborn resistance of the home side who continued to press forward but without the bite they had previously displayed. Hertha played out the remaining minutes to deservedly win 4-2 and reach the second round of the 2014/15 DFB Cup.
Match details:
Hertha BSC: Kraft - Pekarik (K), Heitinga, Langkamp, Schulz - Niemeyer, Hosogai (86. Hegeler) - Beerens, Ronny (80. Baumjohann), Haraguchi - Schieber (78. Ben-Hatira)
Viktoria Köln: Pellatz - Koronkiewicz, Brzenska, Reiche, Schäfer (85. Löhden) - Staffeldt (K), Dej - Pagano (85. Assauer), Nottbeck (61. Röttger), Wunderlich - Candan
Goals: 0:1 Ronny (33.), 0:2 Beerens (41.), 0:3 Haraguchi (52.), 1:3 Wunderlich (57.), 2:3 Candan (67.), 2:4 Schieber (76.)
Booked: Candan (62.), Hickl (77.), Reiche (90.) - Kraft (90.)
Referee: Arne Aarnik (Nordhorn)
Venue: Sportpark Höhenberg, Köln
Att: 5.239