Lots of fight, little football, no points

Hamburg – Sometimes you get away with mistakes, but sometimes they get punished. That was the case on Sunday (05/03/17) in Hamburg, as Hertha’s mistakes proved to be the deciding factor in what was fifth consecutive away defeat. It was a mistake which led to the only goal of the afternoon, which was scored by Albin Ekdal in the 77th minute.

Lots of fight, litle football

It was a relatively even contest between two well matched sides. Both fought hard and showed right from the beginning that they were highly motivated to win.  However, there were few notable chances and the game was mostly played out in midfield. “In the first half it was a fight, so we can’t really talk about football,” said head coach  Pál Dárdai. Better football was played in the second half. “We adapted and played with more courage,“ explained Dárdai.

One reason for this was the introduction of Ondrej Duda, who Dárdai brought on shortly after the interval for the already cautioned Niklas Stark. The Slovák received more game time than in the previous match, when he was brough on in the last minute against Eintracht Frankfurt. He used his opportunity to show exactly why Hertha brought him in and provided hope of more to come. With his creativity, he gave Hertha impetus and livened up their attacking play. Unfortunately, however, the away side couldn’t manufacture a goal, rather, Hamburg were the ones who took the lead.

Missing the killer pass

Two chances went begging which only added to Hertha’s frustration as they continued to press. Ibisevic, who was making his 250th Bundesliga appearance, and Darida, who was making his 100th, both had opportunities in the second half. “Hamburg kept countering well. We kept going to try and save the game,“ said Dárdai. It wasn’t to be, however. Per Skjelbred said, “The final pass wasn’t there, our crossing wasn’t good enough. We had some good opportunities, but kept giving the ball away.” Sebastian Langkamp added, "We were chasing the game rather than controlling it.” It ended in defeat for Hertha, but it was perhaps not totally undeserved, as Hamburg fought hard and were tenacious. “Hamburg deserved to win,” concluded Dárdai.

Learning their lessons 

This defeat isn’t the end of the world for the Blue and Whites, however, they are aware of disappointing record when on the road: “We can’t think too much about our performance away from home,” said Langkamp. “We have to learn from it. We haven’t been relegated based on that loss alone, but we have to do better,” the centre-back made clear. When asked what would help remedy their weaknesses on their travels, he matter-of-factly stated: “a win.” 

Admittedly, an impending challenge looms for Hertha at home too, although Langkamp sees no reason as to why they can’t win. The team will take on BVB come Saturday (11/03/17), and ending the game with at least a point is not out of question: “We proved that we can stop Dortmund when we played them in the DFB-Pokal,” said Langkamp optimistically. “It’s a home game.” In their own stadium, the Berliners aren’t as mistake-prone as they are on their travels, and will look to punish their opponents instead. 

Hamburg – Sometimes you get away with mistakes, but sometimes they get punished. That was the case on Sunday (05/03/17) in Hamburg, as Hertha’s mistakes proved to be the deciding factor in what was fifth consecutive away defeat. It was a mistake which led to the only goal of the afternoon, which was scored by Albin Ekdal in the 77th minute.

It was a relatively even contest between two well matched sides. Both fought hard and showed right from the beginning that they were highly motivated to win.  However, there were few notable chances and the game was mostly played out in midfield. “In the first half it was a fight, so we can’t really talk about football,” said head coach Pál Dárdai. Better football was played in the second half. “We adapted and played with more courage,” explained Dárdai.

One reason for this was the introduction of Ondrej Duda, who Dárdai brought on shortly after the interval for the already cautioned Niklas Stark. The Slovák received more game time than in the previous match, when he was brough on in the last minute against Eintracht Frankfurt. He used his opportunity to show exactly why Hertha brought him in and provided hope of more to come. With his creativity, he gave Hertha impetus and livened up their attacking play. Unfortunately, however, the away side couldn’t manufacture a goal, rather, Hamburg were the ones who took the lead.

Two chances went begging which only added to Hertha’s frustration as they continued to press. Ibisevic, who was making his 250th Bundesliga appearance, and Darida, who was making his 100th, both had opportunities in the second half. “Hamburg kept countering well. We kept going to try and save the game,” said Dárdai. It wasn’t to be, however. Per Skjelbred said, “The final pass wasn’t there, our crossing wasn’t good enough. We had some good opportunities, but kept giving the ball away.” Sebastian Langkamp added, "We were chasing the game rather than controlling it.” It ended in defeat for Hertha, but it was perhaps not totally undeserved, as Hamburg fought hard and were tenacious. “Hamburg deserved to win,” concluded Dárdai.

This defeat isn’t the end of the world for the Blue and Whites, however, they are aware of disappointing record when on the road: “We can’t think too much about our performance away from home,” said Langkamp. “We have to learn from it. We haven’t been relegated based on that loss alone, but we have to do better,” the centre-back made clear. When asked what would help remedy their weaknesses on their travels, he matter-of-factly stated: “a win.” 

Admittedly, an impending challenge looms for Hertha at home too, although Langkamp sees no reason as to why they can’t win. The team will take on BVB come Saturday (11/03/17), and ending the game with at least a point is not out of question: “We proved that we can stop Dortmund when we played them in the DFB-Pokal,” said Langkamp optimistically. “It’s a home game.” In their own stadium, the Berliners aren’t as mistake-prone as they are on their travels, and will look to punish their opponents instead.