So close

A mixture of pride and disappointment lingered amongst the Hertha players and officials after the 1-1 draw with FC Bayern.

Berlin – It may sound like one of the most simple rules in football: “A game is only over when the referee blows his whistle three times,” Pál Dárdai stated knowingly. “And the referee can play on for as long as he wants.” It sounds simple enough, but sometimes it is not that easy to accept. Especially, if you concede the 1-1 equaliser six minutes into extra time, which results in just one point instead of three. That is what happened to Hertha on Saturday against FC Bayern Munich. “It does hurt a bit and we are disappointed. But we have to accept it,” said Dárdai after the game. “We gave everything in this game but we conceded the goal in the last second. It is crazy,” said a disappointed Vladimir Darida.

Hertha had come so close to victory and it would have been their first in eight years against the record champions. “One minute less and we would have landed the surprise victory,” explained manager Dárdai. Hertha had fought hard for 96 minutes and managed to create an even contest between the two sides. “We showed a good performance. Finally the feeling returned that we can play well against such a strong opponent,” said Per Skjelbred. “We had to make a lot of runs against Bayern’s quick players, but we also responded quickly mentally,” continued the Norwegian.

Ibisevic breaks the deadlock

Hertha showed a brave approach against the table-toppers and created the first opportunities of the game. Not undeservingly, Hertha took the lead after 21 minutes from Vedad Ibisevic’s opener. It was his ninth goal of the campaign and the end of a lengthy goal-drought, as the striker hadn’t found the back of the net since end of November. “I am happy for Vedad. It’s never nice to see a striker go on a lengthy goal drought,” revealed the manager. “I am not just happy because he scored, but also for the way he played and fought today – it was a good sign,” added Dárdai.

Berlin – It may sound like one of the most simple rules in football: “A game is only over when the referee blows his whistle three times,” Pál Dárdai stated knowingly. “And the referee can play on for as long as he wants.” It sounds simple enough, but sometimes it is not that easy to accept. Especially, if you concede the 1-1 equaliser six minutes into extra time, which results in just one point instead of three. That is what happened to Hertha on Saturday against FC Bayern Munich. “It does hurt a bit and we are disappointed. But we have to accept it,” said Dárdai after the game. “We gave everything in this game but we conceded the goal in the last second. It is crazy,” said a disappointed Vladimir Darida.

Hertha had come so close to victory and it would have been their first in eight years against the record champions. “One minute less and we would have landed the surprise victory,” explained manager Dárdai. Hertha had fought hard for 96 minutes and managed to create an even contest between the two sides. “We showed a good performance. Finally the feeling returned that we can play well against such a strong opponent,” said Per Skjelbred. “We had to make a lot of runs against Bayern’s quick players, but we also responded quickly mentally,” continued the Norwegian.

Ibisevic breaks the deadlock

Hertha showed a brave approach against the table-toppers and created the first opportunities of the game. Not undeservingly, Hertha took the lead after 21 minutes from Vedad Ibisevic’s opener. It was his ninth goal of the campaign and the end of a lengthy goal-drought, as the striker hadn’t found the back of the net since end of November. “I am happy for Vedad. It’s never nice to see a striker go on a lengthy goal drought,” revealed the manager. “I am not just happy because he scored, but also for the way he played and fought today – it was a good sign,” added Dárdai.

The visitors showed their ambitions to get a result in the second half and managed to create more opportunities than in the first 45 minutes. But they still struggled against Hertha’s compact defensive shape and often couldn’t find the right approach. Hertha meanwhile looked to counter attack and even had a few chances to add a second goal to their lead. “The opponent created more pressure in the second half. But we still had some chances to counter attack and score a second goal. The final pass was lacking precision,” bemoaned Dárdai.

Quote

[>]
"I am not just happy because he scored, but also because of the way he fought. That is a good sign."
[<]

-Pál Dárdai on Vedad Ibisevic

Historic late goal from FCB

Bayern required extra time for their equaliser. “Bayern have this ability to show presence in the later stages of the game,” the manager tried to explain what happened. This ability was put on display by Robert Lewandowski, who scored the latest Bundesliga goal since detailed data collection was introduced in 2004.

This only added to the disappointment of the Hertha players and fans. But in the end, they will be able to live with a draw against Bayern. Dárdai has already accepted the result and moved on. “A point against Bayern München is great. The team executed our game plan well. I am proud of the boys and the fans,” assured Dárdai. Hertha’s next game will again take place in Berlin’s Olympiastadion with Eintracht Frankfurt making their appearance in the capital next weekend. “We want to remain near the top of the standings and we have to keep play to our potential – we want to win against Frankfurt,” announced Dárdai after the draw with the table-toppers.

Historic late goal from FCB

Bayern required extra time for their equaliser. “Bayern have this ability to show presence in the later stages of the game,” the manager tried to explain what happened. This ability was put on display by Robert Lewandowski, who scored the latest Bundesliga goal since detailed data collection was introduced in 2004.

This only added to the disappointment of the Hertha players and fans. But in the end, they will be able to live with a draw against Bayern. Dárdai has already accepted the result and moved on. “A point against Bayern Munich is great. The team executed our game plan well. I am proud of the boys and the fans,” assured Dárdai. Hertha’s next game will again take place in Berlin’s Olympiastadion with Eintracht Frankfurt making their appearance in the capital next weekend. “We want to remain near the top of the standings and we have to keep play to our potential – we want to win against Frankfurt,” announced Dárdai after the draw with the table-toppers.