Important point in Hoffenheim

Hertha picked up a valuable point on the road in Sinsheim thanks to Alex Esswein’s second half header.

Sinsheim- Hertha were more than worthy of the draw. For long periods this one was a close encounter, so a share of the spoils was the right result as Alex Esswein’s header cancelled out Sandro Wagner’s early goal. There were further reasons’s to celebrate for Berlin as Mitchell Weiser (50) and Fabian Lustenberger (250) both reached landmark appearance milestones for Hertha.

Dardai made four changes from the side which started the UEFA Europa League game with Bilbao on Thursday. Rune Jarstein returned in goal, with Per Skjelbred, Mathew Leckie, Alex Esswein and Seb Langkamp coming in for Thomas Kraft, Vladimir Darida, Salomon Kalou and Vedad Ibisevic.

The game in Sinsheim started quickly. Too quickly for some of the Hertha players, and while Jarstein did well to tip over an early header he could do nothing to prevent Wagmer giving the home side the lead from the resulting corner. From then on though, it was he visitors in red who made most of the running. Leckie and Weiser almost combined for the latter to head in an equaliser shortly after and Ondrej Duda forced Baumann into a good save five minutes before the break and Esswein was denied at the second attempt by Baumann with the ball inches from crossing the line.

Hertha carried their momentum into the second period, First Esswein’s cross deceived everyone before clipping the bar and moments later Duda’s fierce drive from the edge of the box was pushed away by Baumann. The goal was coming, and it duly came ten minutes after the restart as Plattenhardt’s superb near post cross was nodded home by the diving Esswein. Both teams looked visibly tired after their Europa League exploits on Thursday and few clear cut chances were on offer in the final moments of the game, leading to a fair result at the final whistle.

The game in Sinsheim started quickly. Too quickly for some of the Hertha players, and while Jarstein did well to tip over an early header he could do nothing to prevent Wagmer giving the home side the lead from the resulting corner. From then on though, it was he visitors in red who made most of the running. Leckie and Weiser almost combined for the latter to head in an equaliser shortly after and Ondrej Duda forced Baumann into a good save five minutes before the break and Esswein was denied at the second attempt by Baumann with the ball inches from crossing the line.

Hertha carried their momentum into the second period, First Esswein’s cross deceived everyone before clipping the bar and moments later Duda’s fierce drive from the edge of the box was pushed away by Baumann. The goal was coming, and it duly came ten minutes after the restart as Plattenhardt’s superb near post cross was nodded home by the diving Esswein. Both teams looked visibly tired after their Europa League exploits on Thursday and few clear cut chances were on offer in the final moments of the game, leading to a fair result at the final whistle.

Hertha sit 11th after Matchday 4, while Hoffenheim creep up to fourth. Both teams now face a hectic schedule over the next seven days. Hertha host Leverkusen on Wednesday night before travelling to Mainz next Saturday to complete a run of four games in ten days.