Dramatic draw in Freiburg

Hertha came from behind to grab a point in Freiburg after a dramatic second half that saw three penalties awarded in southern Germany.

Freiburg - And breath! Pal Dardai’s boys returned to Berlin after a week on the road with a point thanks to Salomon Kalou converting from the penalty spot mere minutes after the Ivory Coast attacker had blazed a first spot kick over the bar. Jannik Haberer had given the home side the lead shortly after the break – also from twelve yards following a foul from Niklas Stark in the area.

Five new faces started in Freiburg following the midweek defeat in Ukraine. Mathe Leckie, Per Skjelbred, Ondrej Duda, Salomon Kalou and Vedad Ibisevic all returned to the team, while Peter Pekarik, Arne Maier, Alex Esswein, Valentino Lazaro and Davie Selke made way.

Hertha started the game far better, showing no signs of tiredness following their travelling exploits in the week. Vedad Ibisevic had the game’s first real chance, but he found Alex Schwolow in the Freiburg goal in good form early on, before Salomon Kalou looped a header onto the roof of the net inside the first ten minutes. The home side grew into the game and were particularly threatening before the break, with Terrazzino whistling a shot just past the post from range, before Karim Rekik threw himself in the way from five yards to deny Christian Streich’s side a certain opener.

It was a more even start to the second half until referee Guido Winkmann demmed Niklas Stark’s challenge in the box was too brash and awarded a penalty to the delight of the home crowd. The excitement in the Schwarzwaldstadion increased yet further when Haberer buried the resulting kick. Dardai introduced Selke and Lazaro shortly after to give Hertha added impetus going forward, though it was Jarstein who had to be alert to stop Freiburg doubling the advantage with twenty minutes to go. Three minutes later Hertha had a penalty of their own after Arne Maier was bundled over in the box. Salomon Kalou stepped up, but fired the ball well over the crossbar. Undeterred, Hertha pressed forward again and were awarded another chance to equalize from twelve yards after Selke was fouled. This time, Kalou made no mistake, calmly rolling the ball home to bring Hertha level. There was time for Jarstein to push a late free kick onto the bar too, as the capital ity club picked up their fourth draw and second on the road this season.

Hertha started the game far better, showing no signs of tiredness following their travelling exploits in the week. Vedad Ibisevic had the game’s first real chance, but he found Alex Schwolow in the Freiburg goal in good form early on, before Salomon Kalou looped a header onto the roof of the net inside the first ten minutes. The home side grew into the game and were particularly threatening before the break, with Terrazzino whistling a shot just past the post from range, before Karim Rekik threw himself in the way from five yards to deny Christian Streich’s side a certain opener.

It was a more even start to the second half until referee Guido Winkmann demmed Niklas Stark’s challenge in the box was too brash and awarded a penalty to the delight of the home crowd. The excitement in the Schwarzwaldstadion increased yet further when Haberer buried the resulting kick. Dardai introduced Selke and Lazaro shortly after to give Hertha added impetus going forward, though it was Jarstein who had to be alert to stop Freiburg doubling the advantage with twenty minutes to go.

Three minutes later Hertha had a penalty of their own after Arne Maier was bundled over in the box. Salomon Kalou stepped up, but fired the ball well over the crossbar. Undeterred, Hertha pressed forward again and were awarded another chance to equalize from twelve yards after Selke was fouled. This time, Kalou made no mistake, calmly rolling the ball home to bring Hertha level. There was time for Jarstein to push a late free kick onto the bar too, as the capital ity club picked up their fourth draw and second on the road this season.

Hertha moved up to 11th in the Bundesliga table with ten points. Wednesday will see FC Köln visit the Olympiastadion in the second round of the DFB-Pokal at 18:30, before Hamburger SV arrive in the capital next Saturday for 15:30 Bundesliga fixture.

Hertha move up to 11th in the Bundesliga table with ten points. Wednesday will see FC Köln visit the Olympiastadion in the second round of the DFB-Pokal at 18:30, before Hamburger SV arrive in the capital next Saturday for 15:30 Bundesliga fixture.