Teams | October 22, 2017 at 09:59 PM

"An important point for us."

It was nail-biter to the final whistle, read what the coaches and players had to say after Hertha drew 1-1 with Freiburg on Sunday afternoon.

Berlin- Hertha came away from the Black Forest with a point on Sunday afternoon a tense game with Freiburg which saw three second half penalties awarded – a Bundesliga first.

Trainer Pál Dárdai: I am satisfied with teh result. It was an open game, and both teams played to win it until the final whistle. My team showed they were prepared to fight until the end. Our substitutions really helped us. After the first penalty I said to Michael Preetz we must be cursed. I couldn’t watch the second penalty but Salomon showed guts. He is a very good striker, and never misses in training. It was a important point for us, and now we have to back that up at home.

Salomon Kalou: I struck the first one too hard because of the soft ground, and it’s gone too high. I learned my lesson with the second and just kept it low. We were not satisfied at half time because we could have played better. We were better in the second half even if we had to deal with going behind. But we kept pushing forward. To get a point after going behind gives us confidence going into the next few games.

Niklas Stark: 1-1 is a fair result. We had our chances but also left a few gaps at the back and we will have to be more compact. Davie and Valentino were so full of energy when they came on and forced Freiburg into fouls, just as Arne Maier did for our first penalty. After the last week it feels good to get that point.

Mitchell Weiser: It was again unfortunate that we went behind. At the moment we are little bit lax but we fought back well. I am proud of the team that we hung in here and got the deserved outcome in the end. I knew Salomon would score the second penalty – he wouldn’t miss two!

Mathew Leckie: It definitely was not the prettiest game of football. We started well, but when they found their rhythm they created more chances. We spoke at half time about what we did wrong and after the break we played better football. It was good that we equalize even after missing the first penalty. We can be happy with the result because Freiburg played well.

Pál Dárdai: I am satisfied with teh result. It was an open game, and both teams played to win it until the final whistle. My team showed they were prepared to fight until the end. Our substitutions really helped us. After the first penalty I said to Michael Preetz we must be cursed. I couldn’t watch the second penalty but Salomon showed guts. He is a very good striker, and never misses in training. It was a important point for us, and now we have to back that up at home.

Salomon Kalou: I struck the first one too hard because of the soft ground, and it’s gone too high. I learned my lesson with the second and just kept it low. We were not satisfied at half time because we could have played better. We were better in the second half even if we had to deal with going behind. But we kept pushing forward. To get a point after going behind gives us confidence going into the next few games.

Niklas Stark: 1-1 is a fair result. We had our chances but also left a few gaps at the back and we will have to be more compact. Davie and Valentino were so full of energy when they came on and forced Freiburg into fouls, just as Arne Maier did for our first penalty. After the last week it feels good to get that point.

Mitchell Weiser: It was again unfortunate that we went behind. At the moment we are little bit lax but we fought back well. I am proud of the team that we hung in here and got the deserved outcome in the end. I knew Salomon would score the second penalty – he wouldn’t miss two!

Mathew Leckie: It definitely was not the prettiest game of football. We started well, but when they found their rhythm they created more chances. We spoke at half time about what we did wrong and after the break we played better football. It was good that we equalize even after missing the first penalty. We can be happy with the result because Freiburg played well.

by Hertha BSC