Rekik and Ibisevic score in Hertha win

The victory against the Turkish giants was the second for the Pál Dárdai’s team during their Schladming training camp. Karim Rekik headed Hertha in front within two minutes in Kapfenberg, before Vedad Ibisevic bagged the winner with 16 minutes left to play.

Just as against Baku earlier in the week, Hertha flew out of the blocks to take the lead early on; Rekik latching on to Marvin Plattenhardt’s corner inside two minutes. The team pressed aggressively from the off, clearly putting their training ground work into practice on the pitch. It almost paid off when Mitchell Weiser forced possession from the opposition before Ibisevic fired just wide from inside the box. Dárdai’s men continued to put the Turkish side under pressure and conceded few chances, though Rune Jarstein and the crossbar ensured Hertha went into the break with a deserved lead. “It looked good. We played with control and pressed well. The only thing missing was the second goal,“ analysed Dárdai at the break.

‘Gala’s’ first real chance came shortly after the break, when Bafetimbi Gomis broke free in the book and lobbed the ball over Jasrstein and onto the top of the goal net. Having trained intensively in the morning before the game, Hertha’s fatigue was beginning to show. Former Schalke loanee Younes Belhanda also came close to an equaliser, though his shot flew wide. The equaliser eventually came through a Eren Derdiyok in the 59th minute. “The 20 minutes after the break were awful. Our opponents put pressure on us and we lost our structure,” observed the Hertha head coach.

The lead was restored with 19 minutes left on the clock when captain Ibisevic fired in to following a ball in from the left by Esswein. “It was a good challenge, I’m happy. We shook ourselves back into gear after the equaliser, which says a lot about the team. In the end, we deserved the win,” said Dárdai at full time, who travelled back to Berlin with his squad on Sunday morning.

Hertha BSC: Jarstein - Pekarik (75’ Kade), Langkamp (75‘ Lustenberger), Rekik, Plattenhardt (75‘ Mittelstädt) - Darida, Skjelbred (75‘ Maier) - Weiser, Kalou (60‘ Duda) - Esswein (75‘ Dárdai), Ibisevic 

Goals: 1-0 Rekik (3‘), 1-1 Derdiyok (60‘), 2-1 Ibisevic (74‘)