80 minutes before the start of the game, the Hertha BSC footballers entered the interior of the Borussia Park to inspect the pitch. “We want to see you fight,” chanted the fans who had traveled from Berlin in the guest block with a certain emphasis. The players downstairs were still in civilian clothes, strolling and chatting, but the fans knew it couldn’t hurt to shout out the most important things to them.
70 minutes before the start of the game, Hertha’s footballers had slipped to penultimate place in the table. At that moment, VfB Stuttgart secured a point in the guest appearance at Union Berlin and overtook the Berliners with the better goal difference.
With the good advice of the fans who had traveled with them, the Berlin players got the opportunity to fight accordingly and leave the penultimate place north again, but they lost 0:2 (0:1) at Borussia Mönchengladbach. It was her fifth loss in a row and her ninth straight game without a win. It took 12 weeks with only two points gained before Hertha slipped from eleventh place with 21 points to penultimate place with 23 points after a 3-2 win against Borussia Dortmund on December 18th.
“There’s no hew-jerk action so soon after the game,” says Fredi Bobic
The gradual decline should now mean the immediate end for the coach Tayfun Korkut, because there had been ultimate demands before. “It is inevitable that we will score points in Gladbach,” Hertha’s sporting director Fredi Bobic said before the game. “Losing forbidden!” Korkut had explicitly accepted as a requirement. But right after the game you wanted to at least take the night to sleep over everything.
Matthias Ginter (centre) made everything clear with his header to make it 2-0.
(Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa)
“There is no hew-jerk action so shortly after the game,” said Bobic after the final whistle, “I can’t announce anything now, we will have a quiet discussion with our finance director Ingo Schiller and the president Werner Gegenbauer on Sunday morning. and then we’ll see.” Bobic was able to gain something from the team’s performance: “I saw that the lads gave it their all; the second half was open, they were a bit on it.”
“Today you can’t blame the team in terms of attitude and will,” agreed Korkut. He couldn’t answer so soon after the game whether he would still be the coach against Hoffenheim next Saturday. “I can’t comment on that; we’ll talk and I know no one is above the club.” He was then asked whether this meant that he was expecting his dismissal and replied: “I’m not expecting anything.”
For the Gladbachers and their coach Adi Hütter, who is in domestic corona isolation, the victory was at least a statistical liberation. “It is to play with the intention of winning,” said Gladbach’s assistant coach and interim boss Christian Peintinger before the game, sounding as if he were quoting from the centuries-old first football law that was once carved into a stone slab in England. “The team has to deliver,” Gladbach’s sporting director Roland Virkus had unmistakably demanded at the same time. And she delivered. “The team showed a great reaction after the 3-2 defeat in Stuttgart,” said Peintinger afterwards, relieved, but didn’t want to give the all-clear: “First we have to confirm this performance and become more consistent.” With 30 points now, however, there is not that much missing to get the league under one roof.
Davie Selke grumbles about the goals conceded – both by standards
The special requirements for this explosive game could be seen in both starting formations. Six new players were found in Berlin’s team after the previous 4-1 defeat against Frankfurt, and Gladbach started with four of the youngest: Luca Netz, 18, Joe Scally, 19, Kouadio Koné, 20, and Jordan Louis Beyer, 21 Players in the squad, while veterans like Lars Stindl, 33, Tony Jantschke, Patrick Herrmann, Christoph Kramer, all 31, and Stefan Lainer, 29, (but not all fit again) sat on the bench.
Gladbach showed enthusiasm for the game from the start. This could have been due to the backdrop of 30,675 spectators, which had not been noticed for a long time, as well as the rooms that the half-hearted Berliners gave them. In the 9th minute Breel Embolo hit the post, in the 24th minute Alassane Plea sunk a penalty kick that Marc-Oliver Kempf had caused by a foot sweep to Marcus Thuram. The only bad thing for Gladbach and the only good thing for Berlin: it was only 1-0 at the break.
In the second half, the Berliners even showed some wit in the attack, but the second-worst defense in the league, with 60 goals conceded, acted naively at the back. It was a bit disappointing for Gladbach that they needed a penalty and a second dead ball from a corner to score their goals. Matthias Ginter made it 2-0 with a header after a corner from Netz in the 59th minute.
Jurgen Ekkelenkamp hit the crossbar for Berlin in the 77th minute. There wasn’t much more with Hertha, who tried after all. “Two goals conceded by set pieces, that’s annoying, that’s sobering,” scolded attacker Davie Selke, unequivocally calling Hertha’s situation “a shitty situation” eight games before the end of the season. The Hertha team spent the night with this feeling. Sunday will show what decision will emerge from this situation.
