Hertha BSC has sent a clear sign of life in the table basement and left a direct relegation zone in the Bundesliga for the time being. The Berliners won a week after the derby debacle in the basement duel at FC Augsburg 1-0 (0-0) and initially jumped to 15th place in the table. The Augsburgers, on the other hand, missed a big step towards staying up and are only four points ahead of the relegation place.
Suat Serdar (49th) scored the decisive goal in front of 28,533 spectators for the Berliners, who celebrated only their second win in the past nine games. For coach Felix Magath’s team, it was also a successful start to the “Weeks of Truth”, in which direct competitors VfB Stuttgart and Arminia Bielefeld are next waiting. After the second bankruptcy in a row, FCA has to deal with the relegation battle again.
After the 1: 4 bankruptcy against Union and the subsequent jersey humiliation by the Ultras, the Berliners organized a team evening on Wednesday and improved the mood in the team. “The mood is again such that we go to Augsburg aggressively and want to show that we can do better,” said Magath, who dropped striker Ishak Belfodil from the squad at short notice and changed his team by five positions compared to the derby. So the veteran Prince Boateng was in the starting line-up of the old lady.
But Hertha started off unsettled, and FCA immediately took control of the game. Alfred Finnbogason, who was back in the starting XI for the first time since the beginning of November, had the first good opportunity (11′) after a cross from Arne Maier. It lasted until the 20th minute before Peter Pekarik registered the Berlin offensive for the first time with a harmless shot.
And the guests became a little more active as a result, getting stuck in the Augsburg half from time to time. The game became more open, Gregoritsch aimed a strong free kick from 25 meters just a little too high (35th).
Hertha BSC comes out of the break like a changed player
However, the Berliners came out of the half-time break as if they had changed, increased the pressure and were rewarded immediately: Marco Richter served Serdar, who pushed in from close range to take the lead (49th). The guests remained the more active team, Richter missed from around 15 meters (55th).
The game remained open, the FCA ran on as a result. Hertha defended passionately and threw herself into every duel. Gregoritsch’s harmless free-kick (66′) heralded the home side’s final offensive, but Hertha remained dangerous even without Boateng (69′), whom Magath described as the ‘only leading player’. He coached the guests from the sidelines after being substituted.
FC Augsburg – Hertha BSC: The voices of the coaches
Markus Weinzierl (FC Augsburg coach): “Of course we’re disappointed, it was an unnecessary defeat and a typical 0-0 game. Hertha stunned our rhythm with a lot of tackles and we didn’t manage to create scoring chances against the compact defence. We were the less fortunate team today , a very bitter defeat.”
Felix Magath (Hertha BSC coach): “I can only thank my colleagues, the fitness trainers and the fans who have supported us here. It was a 90-minute fight for us and the win was vital. In the last half hour we were just under pressure and we’re dealing with fight and Luck brought the stage. It wasn’t an undeserved win, but an important one and a happy one.”
