“We were reactive rather than proactive too often”

The final whistle brought with it confirmation of a result that nobody in blue and white would have wanted, a 2-0 defeat to 1. FC Union in the Berlin derby. Even with our Herthaner working hard to change the result, they left disappointed, with captain Niklas Stark reflecting the mood as he described his feelings following the game. “Several things didn’t go very well, even if we tried everything. We’re disappointed and we understand that our fans aren’t happy,” said our defender. Our sporting director Fredi Bobic also spoke after the game, and herthabsc.com have collected all the reaction from the game.

Niklas Stark: This defeat hurts a lot. We know that Union are dangerous on the counter, so we wanted to stay compact. After the goals went in we needed to make some changes and attack earlier, but Union pushed up well with their long balls. We needed to handle the game better and need to analyse our mistakes. Several things didn’t go very well, even if we tried everything. We’re disappointed and we understand that our fans aren’t happy, which is well within their rights. I understand their frustration.

Fredi Bobic: There was lots of energy on the pitch, lots of tackles, and actually things didn’t start too badly for us. Márton needs to learn from what happened for the 1-0 – it’s a shame that it had to happen to him in this game of all games. We were reactive rather than proactive too often, especially with set pieces. In the second half the lads tried everything they could, but Union’s organised defence left little opportunity for shots. The moment just before half time where our goal didn’t count is incredibly hard to take for me. Where do we draw the line – where’s the limit on how far we rewind the game? The lads made three more passes after the point where they decided the offside. At the end of the day, it’s a fair win for Union. We played a lot, fought hard and tried everything to come back. It just wasn’t our night.