Teams | April 28, 2018 at 09:10 PM

Late comeback earns draw with Augsburg in Berlin

Late comeback earns draw with Augsburg in Berlin

Two late strikes from Vedad Ibisevic and Davie Selke rescued a point for Hertha in Berlin on Saturday, as Pal Dardai's boys recovered from 2-0 down on Matchday 32.

Berlin- Never leave a football match early. Hertha put on a determined fightback in the final 10 minutes to secure a draw with FC Augsburg in the penultimate home game of the season.

A deflected Michael Gregoritsch effort put the visitors in front, and the lead was doubled by Sergio Cordova in the second period. Vedad Ibisevic reduced arears from the spot with six minutes to go, before Davie Selke rolled home a later leveler. 

For the second time in a week Hertha finished the game against ten men, as Marcel Heller received a straight red in the final few moments. 

There were two changes from last week’s team in Frankfurt, as Niklas Stark returned following his broken nose and Salomon Kalou also took his place in the starting XI. Jordan Torunarigha and Ondrej Duda were the ones to make way.
Hertha started brightly enough, moving the ball around freely as they looked to build on last week’s win in Frankfurt and maintain their faint Europa League hopes. 
But when the clear cut chances didn’t the home home side retreated into their shell, and Augsburg took full control. 
Martin Hinteregger flashed a free kick just over the bar, before the Bavarians wasted two chances to take the lead from headers. 
The opener when it came was fortunate to say the least, as Gregoritsch’s shot looped off Stark and wrong-footed Jarstein to put Augsburg in front.
The hosts responded, but Mathew Leckie’s drive was kept out by Andreas Luethe. 
The 15 minutes just after half time had been kind to Hertha in recent weeks, but there was to be no equaliser before the hour on Saturday, and despite Hertha again starting stronger, it was Augsburg who put the ball into the back of net.
Sergio Cordova turned his man inside the area and rifled home to double Augsburg’s advantage. 
Back in the return fixture in December, Hertha had left it late to rescue a point in  the WWK Arena, and they set about another late comeback against Manuel Baum’s side in the final ten minutes.
Selke muscled his way clear before being fouled in the area, and sub Vedad Ibisevic converted the spot kick to half the deficit. 
Roles were then reversed with the clock clicking down, as Ibsevic flicked on for Selke to race clear of the last man and calmly slot home the equaliser. 
There was another memorable moment for the Dardai family on Saturday, as Hertha boss Pal brought on son Palko for his Bundesliga debut in the final 10 minutes. 
After making appearances in the Europa League before the turn of the year, this was the 19-year-old’s first outing in the league.
He was involved in late drama too, as he drew a foul from Marcel Heller that saw the FCA midfielder receive a straight red card late on.
Augsburg Hertha might not be the fixture all the fans look out for at the start of the season, but the teams have played out more than their fair share of drama over the two fixtures this season.

Hertha started brightly enough, moving the ball around freely as they looked to build on last week’s win in Frankfurt and maintain their faint Europa League hopes. 

But when the clear cut chances didn’t the home home side retreated into their shell, and Augsburg took full control. 

Martin Hinteregger flashed a free kick just over the bar, before the Bavarians wasted two chances to take the lead from headers. The opener when it came was fortunate to say the least, as Gregoritsch’s shot looped off Stark and wrong-footed Jarstein to put Augsburg in front.

The hosts responded, but Mathew Leckie’s drive was kept out by Andreas Luethe. 

The 15 minutes just after half time had been kind to Hertha in recent weeks, but there was to be no equaliser before the hour on Saturday, and despite Hertha again starting stronger, it was Augsburg who put the ball into the back of net.

Sergio Cordova turned his man inside the area and rifled home to double Augsburg’s advantage. 

Back in the return fixture in December, Hertha had left it late to rescue a point in  the WWK Arena, and they set about another late comeback against Manuel Baum’s side in the final ten minutes.

Selke muscled his way clear before being fouled in the area, and sub Vedad Ibisevic converted the spot kick to half the deficit. 

Roles were then reversed with the clock clicking down, as Ibsevic flicked on for Selke to race clear of the last man and calmly slot home the equaliser. 

There was another memorable moment for the Dardai family on Saturday, as Hertha boss Pal brought on son Palko for his Bundesliga debut in the final 10 minutes. After making appearances in the Europa League before the turn of the year, this was the 19-year-old’s first outing in the league.

He was involved in late drama too, as he drew a foul from Marcel Heller that saw the FCA midfielder receive a straight red card late on.

Augsburg Hertha might not be the fixture all the fans look out for at the start of the season, but the teams have played out more than their fair share of drama over the two fixtures this season.

The draw keeps Hertha ninth in the table with 43 points – just four behind Frankfurt in the final European place in seventh.
Next week sees Hertha take to the road for the final time in 2017/18, with an away day in Hannover scheduled for Saturday at 15:30 on matchday 33.

The draw keeps Hertha ninth in the table with 43 points – just four behind Frankfurt in the final European place in seventh.

Next week sees Hertha take to the road for the final time in 2017/18, with an away day in Hannover scheduled for Saturday at 15:30 on matchday 33.

by Hertha BSC