First team | September 27, 2017 at 05:38 PM

Stats and info on the Östersunds FK game

Stats and info on the Östersunds FK game

Hertha BSC will come up against Östersunds FK on Thursday (28th September). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the UEFA Europa League clash.
Berlin – Hertha BSC will compete in their 92nd European fixture on Thursday (28th September). Pál Dárdai’s men will travel to Sweden to compete in their first away game of this season’s Europa League group stage against Östersunds FK. The Berliners will have to travel approximately 1,200 miles to the Scandinavian city. “We’re really excited but we know how strong Östersund are at home,” said Pater Pekarik before the trip. herthabsc.de has collected a few facts on the game, which kicks off at 19:00 CEST.
Stats: The capital club have faced Swedish opponents seven times in their history; the most recent fixture was a 1-0 victory for the Blue-Whites against Halmstadts BK in the 2005-06 UEFA Cup season, when Andreas “Zecke” Neuendorf scored the only goal of the day. IFK Göteborg were too strong in 1981 in the UI Cup – Hertha were defeated 2-1 at home and 1-0 away. However, the capital club had more luck three years before that when they proceeded in the UI Cup thanks to the away goals rule after a 1-0 win and a 2-1 loss against Kalmar IF. Hertha also have good memories from their first showdown with a Swedish team, when they twice beat IF Elfsborg convincingly (4-1 and 3-1) in the first round of the UEFA Cup 1971-72. Thursday’s match will be Östersunds FK’s first ever game against a German side.
Interesting facts: The clocks run a bit differently in Sweden due to the climate, so the Allsvenskan season runs from April to November. But that’s not the only difference – ÖFK play their home games on Astroturf instead of natural grass. “I haven’t played much on Astroturf, only with the national team,” says Peter Pekarik, who’s not worried about the change of surface causing any problems. “We’re training on Astroturf on Wednesday and we’ll do all we can to adapt our style of play.” It can’t be proven that the surface is the secret to Scandinavians’ strength at home, but they have won all three of their home games with a clean sheet on the European stage.
Officials: Luca Banti has been named the referee for Hertha’s second group stage match. The 43-year-old Italian has refereed almost 200 Serie A games as well as many games in the Italian Cup, Europa League and Champions League qualifiers. The linesmen, Alessandro Giallatini und Andrea Crispo, as well as fourth official, Lorenzo Manganelli, also hail from Italy.
Weather: The weather will be slightly different to what the players are used to in Berlin. At kick-off, the temperature is forecasted to be 10 degrees Celsius, as it’s quickly approaching winter in Sweden. Despite this, it’s not forecasted to rain but there will be a slow south-southeast 15km/h wind with gusts of 35 km/h.

Berlin – Hertha BSC will compete in their 92nd European fixture on Thursday (28th September). Pál Dárdai’s men will travel to Sweden to compete in their first away game of this season’s Europa League group stage against Östersunds FK. The Berliners will have to travel approximately 1,200 miles to the Scandinavian city. “We’re really excited but we know how strong Östersund are at home,” said Pater Pekarik before the trip. herthabsc.de has collected a few facts on the game, which kicks off at 19:00 CEST.

Stats: The capital club have faced Swedish opponents seven times in their history; the most recent fixture was a 1-0 victory for the Blue-Whites against Halmstadts BK in the 2005-06 UEFA Cup season, when Andreas “Zecke” Neuendorf scored the only goal of the day. IFK Göteborg were too strong in 1981 in the UI Cup – Hertha were defeated 2-1 at home and 1-0 away. However, the capital club had more luck three years before that when they proceeded in the UI Cup thanks to the away goals rule after a 1-0 win and a 2-1 loss against Kalmar IF. Hertha also have good memories from their first showdown with a Swedish team, when they twice beat IF Elfsborg convincingly (4-1 and 3-1) in the first round of the UEFA Cup 1971-72. Thursday’s match will be Östersunds FK’s first ever game against a German side.

Interesting facts: The clocks run a bit differently in Sweden due to the climate, so the Allsvenskan season runs from April to November. But that’s not the only difference – ÖFK play their home games on Astroturf instead of natural grass. “I haven’t played much on Astroturf, only with the national team,” says Peter Pekarik, who’s not worried about the change of surface causing any problems. “We’re training on Astroturf on Wednesday and we’ll do all we can to adapt our style of play.” It can’t be proven that the surface is the secret to Scandinavians’ strength at home, but they have won all three of their home games with a clean sheet on the European stage.

Officials: Luca Banti has been named the referee for Hertha’s second group stage match. The 43-year-old Italian has refereed almost 200 Serie A games as well as many games in the Italian Cup, Europa League and Champions League qualifiers. The linesmen, Alessandro Giallatini und Andrea Crispo, as well as fourth official, Lorenzo Manganelli, also hail from Italy.

Weather: The weather will be slightly different to what the players are used to in Berlin. At kick-off, the temperature is forecasted to be 10 degrees Celsius, as it’s quickly approaching winter in Sweden. Despite this, it’s not forecasted to rain but there will be a slow south-southeast 15km/h wind with gusts of 35 km/h.

by Hertha BSC