Hertha BSC succeeded in the hoped-for liberation in the relegation battle of the Bundesliga. In the home debut of the new coach Tayfun Korkut, the Berliners won 2-0 (0-0) against Arminia Bielefeld and set themselves apart from the table cellar.
The goals of the day for the capital club were scored by Stevan Jovetic (53rd), who had already been successful twice in the previous week, and Davie Selke (90th + 5). The Herthaners rewarded themselves in front of 5000 spectators in the Olympic Stadium for a combative and also playful performance with the premiere victory under Korkut. The offensively harmless Bielefelds are still stuck on the penultimate place in the table.
Korkut had to do without the full-backs Peter Pekarik (muscle problems) and Maximilian Mittelstädt (cold) at short notice. Arminia coach Frank Kramer trusted the same starting line-up that had won a 1-1 draw against 1. FC Köln the previous week.
“It will be important that we are patient and at the same time determined,” Korkut had demanded in advance. His team did it well at first and had three good chances in the first quarter of an hour through Niklas Stark (10th) and Suat Serdar (12th and 14th). At Serdar’s second chance, Joakim Nilsson saved on the line with a header for the already defeated Arminia goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
Only then did the guests find their way into the game better, even if they had great difficulty creating clear scoring opportunities. At least the Bielefeld got a little more possession of the ball and increasingly approached the opposing goal.
After the break, little happened at first, Hertha’s 1-0 lead fell out of nowhere. Ishak Belfodil had claimed the ball against three Armines in the penalty area and put it back on goal scorer Jovetic. Then Bielefeld opened its defensive network a little, and coach Kramer brought fresh offensive forces. But the most harmless team in the league in terms of goals did not play necessarily enough. Opportunities like those of substitute Florian Krüger (65th), who hit the outside netting, remained scarce.
Hertha not only defended the narrow lead, but also played on the 2-0. Especially the new storm duo Jovetic / Belfodil caused a lot of unrest in the Bielefeld half.
