Selke earns Hertha dramatic draw in Wolfsburg

Summer signing Davie Selke scored his third goal in as many days to earn Hertha a point from a scintillating six-goal thriller with Wolfsburg on Sunday night.

Berlin- A penalty miss, two efforts ruled out by VAR and six goals means it is perhaps ask worth asking what this game DIDN’T have. At the end of all that, Hertha headed back home to Berlin with a point from Wolfsburg. Vedad Ibisevic’s goal after 19 seconds was cancelled out by Younes Malli before half time after the hosts had missed a penalty and seen two goal chalked off for offside following a VAR review. Mario Gomez gave the Wolves the lead just before the break only for Karim Rekik to draw Hertha level early in the second period. Divock Origi’s close-range finish looked to have consigned Hertha to their first Bundesliga defeat in three, only for Davie Selke to tap home the leveler in the final five minutes.

Berlin- A penalty miss, two efforts ruled out by VAR and six goals means it is perhaps ask worth asking what this game DIDN’T have. In the end, Hertha headed back home to Berlin with a point from Wolfsburg. Vedad Ibisevic’s goal after 19 seconds was cancelled out by Younes Malli before half time after the hosts had missed a penalty and seen two goals chalked off for offside following a VAR review.

Mario Gomez gave the Wolves the lead just before the break only for Karim Rekik to draw Hertha level early in the second period. Divock Origi’s close-range finish looked to have consigned Hertha to their first Bundesliga defeat in three, only for Davie Selke to tap home the leveler in the final five minutes.

Pal Dardai rung the changes once more following the win in Europe on Thursday. After a youthful line-up against Zorya on Thursday the starting XI had a more recognizable look to it as the boss sent out the same side which had begun the 2-1 win over Hamburger SV last Saturday.

Any Hertha fan arriving late for the game in the Volkswagen City would have missed Vedad Ibisevic’s opener after 20 seconds, as the Bosnian forward ended his Bundesliga drought for the season by collecting Valentino Lazaro’s pass and poking home. That was all she wrote in the first half for Pal Dardai’s side as Wolfsburg dominated from there on in. Mario Gomez thought he’d equalized immediately, only for the Video Assistant in Cologne to deem he had been in an offside position from John Brooks’ original flick. Gomez was handed a chance to make amends when Per Skjelbred was penalized in the box, but the Germany striker crashed his spot kick against the bar. And Wolfsburg’s hat trick of near misses was completed inside 35 minutes as another VAR review concluded Younes Malli’s shot had struck a team mate in an offside position on its way to beating Rune Jarstein in the Hertha goal. Then, after all of that, the visitors from Berlin contrived to go in 2-1 down at half time as Malli and Gomez turned the tide for the Wolves in the final three minutes of the opening period.

A inevitably quieter second half for the Bundesliga’s new technology was still punctuated by three goals as one of the matches of season so far ended all square. Karim Rekik grabbed his second headed-Hertha goal in as many league outings by looping a cross from Casteels just after the restart, but a lapse in concentration from a corner allowed Divock Origi to bundle home and leave Wolfsburg in control with half an hour to go. But then up popped Selke, who finished off a lovely team move involving Weiser, Skjelbred and Ibisevic at the second attempt to secure a point and earn Hertha’s third point on the road in five matches.

Any Hertha fan arriving late for the game in the Volkswagen City would have missed Vedad Ibisevic’s opener after 20 seconds, as the Bosnian forward ended his Bundesliga drought for the season by collecting Valentino Lazaro’s pass and poking home. That was all she wrote in the first half for Pal Dardai’s side as Wolfsburg dominated from there on in.

Mario Gomez thought he’d equalized immediately, only for the Video Assistant in Cologne to deem he had been in an offside position from John Brooks’ original flick. Gomez was handed a chance to make amends when Per Skjelbred was penalized in the box, but the Germany striker crashed his spot kick against the bar. And Wolfsburg’s hat-trick of near misses was completed inside 35 minutes as another VAR review concluded Younes Malli’s shot had struck a team mate in an offside position on its way to beating Rune Jarstein in the Hertha goal. After all of that, the visitors from Berlin contrived to go in 2-1 down at half time as Malli and Gomez turned the tide for the Wolves.

An inevitably quieter second half for the Bundesliga’s new technology was still punctuated by three goals as one of the matches of season so far ended all square.

Karim Rekik grabbed his second headed-Hertha goal in as many league outings by looping a cross over Casteels just after the restart, but a lapse in concentration from a corner allowed Divock Origi to bundle home and leave Wolfsburg in control with half an hour to go.

But then up popped super sub Selke, who finished off a lovely team move involving Weiser, Skjelbred and Ibisevic at the second attempt to secure a point and earn Hertha’s third league draw on the road in five matches.

The point leaves Dardai’s side in 11th place in the Bundesliga table with 14 points heading into the international break, just six behind Dortmund in third. Matchday 12 will see Gladbach visit Berlin on Saturday, November 18th for the late kick off (18:00 CET).

The point leaves Dardai’s side in 11th place in the Bundesliga table with 14 points heading into the international break, just six behind Dortmund in third. Matchday 12 will see Gladbach visit Berlin on Saturday, November 18th for the late kick off (18:30 CET).