Disgrace for VfL Wolfsburg: At the end of the season, Lower Saxony suffered an embarrassing 2-1 (1-0) defeat against relegated Hertha BSC and, as bottom in the table, missed out on qualifying for the European stage for the second time in a row.
“Our overall development is positive, but we are bitterly disappointed. We simply should have led higher at half-time,” said Marcel Schäfer, Managing Director of Sport sky.
Hertha coach Pal Dardai, on the other hand, was happy about a positive end to the season: “This time luck was finally on our side.”
Wolfsburg’s Jakub Kaminski seemed to have laid the foundation for qualifying for international business in the second minute. The Pole was successful with a low shot after preparatory work by Yannick Gerhardt. Berlin goalkeeper Tjark Ernst, who made his first Bundesliga appearance, was powerless in this scene.
Ibrahim Maza, who came on after the break, provided the deserved equalizer in the 55th minute. 13 minutes later the guests even took the lead through Marco Richter and cleverly maintained this lead.
Fireworks interrupt the game
The earlier gap quickly led to frustration in the block of guest fans. After plenty of fireworks had been set off, referee Benjamin Cortus interrupted the game for five minutes in front of 26,750 spectators. Dardai used this time to moderate the attachment of the bottom of the table.
In the period that followed, the hosts continued to dominate the action, but failed several times due to debutant Ernst. And when the Berlin keeper seemed beaten again, Richter hit a long-range shot by Josuha Guilavogui from the goal line in the 42nd minute.
Kovac reacts late
After the change of sides, the dominance of the North Germans continued, but the attacking actions still lacked clarity. Coach Niko Kovac was visibly dissatisfied, but did not make any personnel changes at this stage.
Only after the surprising equalizer did the coach react and in the 66th minute he brought on Luca Waldschmidt as an offensive player. But this shot backfired, Berlin found its way into the game better and better.
VfL Wolfsburg – Hertha BSC: The voices of the game
Niko Kovac (VfL Wolfsburg coach):“I’m very disappointed and deeply sad. We should never have lost the game. Our finishing must be more focused, we have to stop this negligence.”
Pal Dardai (Hertha BSC coach): “This time luck was finally on our side. Nobody likes going into the summer break with a loss. Next week there will be a discussion with the club about how Hertha will continue.”
