Home win against Augsburg!

The club from the capital won their game at home against FC Augsburg on Saturday afternoon. Javairo Dilrosun and Krzysztof Piatek decided them game in favour of Hertha as the team go unbeaten in their last six games.

Formation

Bruno Labadia trusted in the team that has been getting him results once more on Saturday. The only changes he made to the side were forced ones as Matheus Cunha and Marvin Plattenhardt had to drop out of the side with mild concussions. Maximilian Mittelstädt and Javairo Dilrosun started in their place. 17-year-old Luca Netz was named to the bench for his first appearance in the senior squad. Augsburg coach Heiko Herrlich made several changes to his team that drew 0-0 with Paderborn in midweek. Stephan Lichtsteiner, Marek Suchy, Sergio Cordova, Noah Sarenren Bazee, Iago and Carlos Gruezo all came into the side. On-loan Hertha man Eduard Löwen also started for Augsburg, Julian Schieber was not in the squad.

Match Analysis

Both teams started off well in the game with neither showing signs of fear going forward: Rune Jarstein had to save from Sergio Cordova early, taking a big hit in doing so (4’). In the 13th minute, the Herthaner had their first real sighting of the Augsburg goal as Vedad Ibisevic cleverly tied to flick in a cross at the near post, but Andreas Luthe wad there to stop him. After that it really was all Hertha for the first half, having plenty of the ball and camping out in the Augsburg half. That finally culminated in a goal for Hertha when a Maximilian Mittelstädt cross found Vladimir Darida in the box who laid it on to Peter Pekarik. When his trike was deflected, the ball found its way to Javairo Dilrosun who stayed ice cool in front of goal to flick over the defender before smashing the ball home: 1-0. After going ahead, Hertha weren’t satisfied and went straight on the attack looking for their second goal. Per Skjelbred played it into Pekarik and his cross found the head of Lukebakio but the Belgian couldn’t get his header on target (32’). The Berlin side continued to assert their dominance before the break, Ibisevic had another shot saved by Luthe (36’), before the captain swiped at what was a fantastic opportunity to extend the lead (39’). The ‘Old Lady’ played out a fantastic rest of the half, but couldn’t find their way through the Augsburg defence a second time.

Heiko Herrlich made two attacking changes at half time which really seemed to turn the tide for FCA, bringing Florian Niederlechner and Marco Richter onto the pitch. Noah Sarenren Bazee raced down the right to begin the half and his cross was parried by Rune Jarstein before Hertha’s number 22 had to make a quick reaction save to deny a follow up effort from Marco Richter (47’). Dedryck Boyata and Jordan Torunarigha were coming under immense pressure at the back but continued to stand firm. Labbadia reacted to the turning tables with a few changes: Arne Maier came on for Per Skjelbred (59’), before Krzysztof Piatek and Mathew Leckie came onto the pitch for Lukebakio and Ibisevic. The changes seemed to do the trick for the Herthaner, but the away side continued to out them under pressure. They had chances to equalise in the final few minutes but a header from Teigl drifted just ice of the mark, but Marco Richter’s long-range effort rattled the crossbar (89’). In the final seconds though, it was the Herthaner who sealed the deal after a quick counter led Vladimir Darida in on goal, who then squared to Piatek. His lethal strike found the bottom corner to effectively end the game, and so that was how it finished with referee Sven Jablonski bringing and end to a pulsating afternoon of football.

Conclusion and Outlook

After the 2-0 win over Augsburg, the Herthaner have now pushed into the top half, sitting in with place on 38 points. Bruno Labbadia’s side go to Borussia Dortmund this coming Saturday (06/06/20, 18:30 CEST).