Hertha BSC narrowly missed reparations for the Derby bankruptcy. A last-minute goal by FC Augsburg led to the 1-1 draw.
The professionals of FC Augsburg hugged each other at the final whistle, formed a circle and celebrated the goal scorer Michael Gregoritsch (90th + 7th). In the seventh minute of stoppage time, he headed 1: 1 (0: 1) at Hertha BSC. “We are pure joy, we were the better team, we got a stupid goal. The lucky punch was extremely important,” said Augsburg’s Andre Hahn at Sky.
The old lady, however, did not make amends for the derby bankruptcy at 1. FC Union a week ago. The Hertha players crept away disappointed and frustrated, assistant coach Andreas Neuendorf saw the red card in the hectic final phase. The discussions after the final whistle with the fourth official also changed nothing for “Zecke”.
Hertha has won four league games in a row without a win. “We have to slowly learn to go for the second goal more consistently. And finally: How do we defend to bring the game home? We haven’t been able to do that lately,” said Hertha coach Pal Dardai. Six points were lost.
A week after the painful 2-0 bankruptcy in the city derby, the former Augsburg-based Marco Richter (40th) shot the hosts in the lead after a mistake by FCA defender Robert Gumny. The Augsburgers, who defeated Bayern Munich 2-1 on the previous matchday, are with 13 points just behind Hertha (14) in relegation rank 16.
Augsburg fails – judge says thank you
After the bitter derby defeat, Dardai had mainly complained about the lack of penetration in the attack. Ishak Belfodil instead of Krzysztof Piatek in the striker should remedy the situation against Augsburg. And he also had the first scoring opportunity early on. After a pass from Suat Serdar, Belfodil (7th) failed to FCA goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz.
In the Berlin Olympic Stadium, Hertha struggled to set up the game properly, but Augsburg was mostly compact. And when Hertha got in front of the gate, Gikiewicz was in the way. The Pole retained the upper hand in the second duel with Belfodil (21st), before Augsburg came up stronger. Hertha allowed the guests too much defensively.
Iago (28th) tested Hertha goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow with a solid shot. That made Gumny’s fatal mistake all the more unfortunate. The defender and the rushing Gikiewicz were unsure who should clear the ball after a back pass. Gumny took over and was surprised in the turn by Richter, who poked the ball over the line.
At the beginning of the second half, the level of play flattened. Both teams fought and neutralized their offensive efforts, which remained only half-chances for a long time. Occasionally, Hertha still flashed his individual class.
After winning the ball, Serdar (61st) dribbled through all Augsburg lines and forced Gikiewicz to the next parade. A goal by Jordan Torunarigha (74th) was rightly denied due to offside position. On the other hand, Schwolow had to intervene and held twice against Hahn and Iago (77th). In stoppage time, the guests showed their cleverness and achieved the equalizer.
Hertha BSC – FC Augsburg: The voices
Pal Dardai (coach Hertha BSC): “We should have made it 2-0, then we wouldn’t be talking about losing points. Still, you have to say that if the opponent attacks with verve and scores at the last moment, that’s well deserved. We have to slowly learn, more consistently on that second goal. And finally: How do we defend to bring the game home. We haven’t been able to do that lately. “
Markus Weinzierl (FC Augsburg coach): “It was a deserved away point. Of course it was happy in the last second. But I think we played a good game. We worked as a team to make up for the mistake. We believed in it until the end.”
