Not totally dissatisfied

Pál Dárdai is not a man to sugarcoat a defeat. If his team does not reach their potential, he says so. And that’s exactly what he thought of Sunday’s 3-1 defeat against Bayer 04. “Leverkusen deserved their victory,” he conceded. Hertha promised a lot ahead of the first competitive match of the year, and were the better team for long periods in the BayArena but ultimately couldn’t do enough to wrestle even a point from the Champions League participants.

Sharing the points - if nothing else - seemed more than possible in the opening period. Leverkusen’s opener through Toprak after 12 minutes came completely against the run of play and was assisted partly by the Berlin defence, who failed to clear a free kick. “We defended really naively there,” said an annoyed Dárdai afterwards. Hertha were a whisker away from drawing level soon after, but Vedad Ibisevic’s shot from the edge of the area flew just over the top of the crossbar.

Set-pieces the key

This game was not the first in which the club from the capital have not had luck on their side. The ball struck Marvin Plattenhardt on the hand very unfortunately as he made a last-ditch attempt to prevent a goal and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. “I don’t think it was a penalty but the referee has given it and that is just how it is,” said Hertha’s left-back after the match. Calhanoglu finished from the resulting spot-kick to make it 2-0 to the home side. “We actually had everything under control in the first half until the set-piece,” said Dárdai. It was a seemingly harmless ball in that put Hertha back in the game. John Anthony Brooks, in the team again after being out with injury, headed an effort towards goal after a short corner with such power that the Leverkusen keeper could not hold on to it. Valentin Stocker was in the right place and the right time and tapped in the rebound to make it 2-1 just before half-time.

The guests were pushing for the third goal from the beginning of the second half. “We were a bit all over the place at the beginning of the second half. Leverkusen were clearly playing the better football,” said Dárdai. The Werkself created numerous chances in the opening stages of the second half. Hertha regained their composure and strived to find an equaliser. The travelling fans nearly jumped up to celebrate in the 73rd minute, however, Ibisevic missed from just a few yards out after receiving the ball from Stocker. “Unfortunately we missed the chance to make it 2-2. It would have been interesting to see how the match would have turned out if we had scored,” said Dárdai.

Focus shifts to the next game

In the late stages, Hertha threw everything forward in order to try and prevent the loss, but Leverkusen’s strength on the counter made things difficult. Two minutes before time, Calhanoglu picked up his second goal to make it 3-1. “I saw where the team are and where we have to put in work, so on that level I am not completely unsatisfied,” said Pál Dárdai in the aftermath of the game. “The physical level was good. Despite playing a top side, we played well.” The head coach’s mind will already have turned to the next Bundesliga challenge on Sunday, 29th January, when the team meet SC Freiburg, and the man in charge has put in plans for intensive preparations. “Now we will have a week of hard work. We will look to improve a few things in Freiburg and come away with the points.”