Hertha second in "Traditions Cup"

Hertha finished second in Saturday’s mini tournament in Duisburg after a 2-0 defeat to English Championship side Aston Villa. It had followed a 2-1 semi-final win over FC Malaga.

Berlin/Duisburg- Hertha took part in the tournament along with MSV Duisburg, FC Malaga and Aston Villa. “All in all I am happy. It was two good tests against two good international sides, even though you could see we were a bit tired. But we also know we have work still to do,” said Pal Dardai, who sent out two very different teams for the two 45 minute games.

Defending champions:

Hertha travelled to Duisburg having won the competition a year ago, but left defeated finalists this time around as goals from Chris Samba and Gabriel Agbonlahor. The eleven, including youth goalkeeper Luis Klatte and new signing Davie Selke for the first time never quite got into the game and were punished by Steve Bruce’s Villains. Sebastian Langkamp was forced to leave the field early. “The boys did well and put in a shift, and stuck to the plan. It obviously wasn’t easy with ten men either,” said Dardai. Selke himself wasn’t happy with the result but did draw his own personal conclusion. “It was important for me to get out there on the pitch,” he said.

Heated game with Malaga

Hertha came through the semi-finals with a 2-1 win over FC Malaga. The Spanish side took the lead with a header through Borja just after the quarter of an hour mark. Malaga were reduced to ten men when Rodriguez received his marching orders for a tackle on Ondrej Duda. Hertha seized the upper hand and Flo Baak headed home Marvin Plattenhardt’s corner after the half hour mark to level the scoring and Alex Esswein completed the turnaround from the penalty spot after Mitchell Weiser had been fouled. Hertha will travel back to Berlin before having Monday off and returning to training on Tuesday. “The next week will all be about the small details, in order to let the guys recover a bit,” said Dardai.

Hertha BSC - Aston Villa: Klatte - Haraguchi, Langkamp, Rekik, Mittelstädt - Skjelbred, Maier, Leckie, Kurt - Selke, Ibisevic

Hertha BSC - FC Malaga: Schaffran - Weiser, Lustenberger, Baak, Plattenhardt - Darida, Stocker, Dardai, Kade - Duda, Esswein

Berlin/Duisburg- Hertha took part in the tournament along with MSV Duisburg, FC Malaga and Aston Villa. “All in all I am happy. It was two good tests against two good international sides, even though you could see we were a bit tired. But we also know we have work still to do,” said Pal Dardai, who sent out two very different teams for the two 45 minute games.

Defending champions:Hertha travelled to Duisburg having won the competition a year ago, but left defeated finalists this time around as goals from Chris Samba and Gabriel Agbonlahor. The eleven, including youth goalkeeper Luis Klatte and new signing Davie Selke for the first time never quite got into the game and were punished by Steve Bruce’s Villains. Sebastian Langkamp was forced to leave the field early. “The boys did well and put in a shift, and stuck to the plan. It obviously wasn’t easy with ten men either,” said Dardai. Selke himself wasn’t happy with the result but did draw his own personal conclusion. “It was important for me to get out there on the pitch,” he said.

Heated game with Malaga

Hertha came through the semi-finals with a 2-1 win over FC Malaga. The Spanish side took the lead with a header through Borja just after the quarter of an hour mark. Malaga were reduced to ten men when Rodriguez received his marching orders for a tackle on Ondrej Duda. Hertha seized the upper hand and Flo Baak headed home Marvin Plattenhardt’s corner after the half hour mark to level the scoring and Alex Esswein completed the turnaround from the penalty spot after Mitchell Weiser had been fouled. Hertha will travel back to Berlin before having Monday off and returning to training on Tuesday. “The next week will all be about the small details, in order to let the guys recover a bit,” said Dardai.

Hertha BSC - Aston Villa: Klatte - Haraguchi, Langkamp, Rekik, Mittelstädt - Skjelbred, Maier, Leckie, Kurt - Selke, Ibisevic

Hertha BSC - FC Malaga: Schaffran - Weiser, Lustenberger, Baak, Plattenhardt - Darida, Stocker, Dardai, Kade - Duda, Esswein