Happy Birthday To Me

By: Abby | May 11th, 2009

On May 9, I turned 24. Hertha Berlin were kind enough to give me the birthday present I really wanted – 3 points from Bochum. And not just that, but my old favorite Jens Lehmann and his VfB Stuttgart also had a present for me- a total demolition of Wolfsburg to bring us within just a point of the leading two, with what looks to be the easier run-in. (They also brought themselves up to within two points and are playing extremely well, but hey.)

Our Kacinho (thanks Jefferson!) was suspended due to yellow-card suspension, but Andriy Voronin was finally back, after serving his 3-match ban. The ponytailed one started the game, alongside another striker known for his luscious locks, Marko Pantelic. Other than that switch, it was the same team that earned a draw at Hamburg.

The game was won on two quick counterattacks. The first came in the 39th minute, from the combination of Pante, Voronin, and Patrick Ebert. A free-kick in our area from Bochum was quickly broken up, and our attackers raced towards their half. The original shot from Voronin was saved, only for Ebert to recover it, launch the ball back in, and Pante headed it in. It’s been a bit since we’ve seen a Pante goal, and despite everything, it’s lovely to see it again.

The second was somewhat similar, except this time a Bochum corner broke to Lukasz Piszczek, who provided a cross to the onrushing Raffael. He met it on the bounce with an odd sort of half-volley, flying it in past Fernandes in the Bochum goal. That was pretty much it. We had a few chances to score others, with Amine Chermiti deciding to shoot instead of passing it to a wide-open Ebert, but we didn’t need any more. In the end, an easy win.

What was most interesting was the attendance figures. 70,000-some filled the Olympiastadion- for Bochum. No offense to Bochum, but they don’t have the superstars that normally draw the Berliners out. It was just a fairly normal league game. And yet, the high attendance normally reserved for the visit of Bayern Munich.

But there’s no time to rest on it. it’s an English Week, which means tomorrow Hertha are already back in action. Their opponents? 1 FC Köln, currently fairly comfortable in 12th place. Their 2009 hasn’t been particularly good, but their 2008 is enough that they’re just about safe from relegation. They’ll also be missing quite a few of their more recognizable names, like goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon, who’s injured, and prolific striker Milivoje Novakovič, who’s suspended. For us, we’ll not only have Gojko Kacar back, but the Kapitän as well. Arne’s recovered from his surgery and is back in the squad for the trip.

Let’s hope for another 3 points, and a step closer to our goal…whatever that may be.