Third

It’s all I really can say, isn’t it?

Third in the league as the first half of the season comes to a close. We go into the New Year on a Champions League place, with a 4-0 win over our buddies in Karlsruhe. It’s the best Hinrunde we’ve ever had. 10 wins, 3 draws, 4 losses. A +7 goal difference to take us over Hamburg for that Champions League position. Two points- two points!- behind the leaders.

Saturday’s game was a bit of a model of the season on the whole. The 4-0 scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story, and may be a little bit harsh on Karlsruhe. After all, it was a 1-goal game until the 74th minute, and had Karlsruhe’s finishing been a little better- or had Drobny not been so impressive- the story could have been completely different before it got there. But, that’s a bit of the way things are going in Berlin these days.

Maximilian Nicu, continuing to impress, opened the scoring after only 8 minutes. Cicero’s cross from the left wasn’t cleared properly and Nicu wasted no time in cannoning it into the net. The early goal let us relax a bit, and we were a bit too casual with the next chances- a backheel from Voronin that Cicero shot at the goalkeeper, a poor header from Pante- and we nearly let them equalize when a truly awful attempt at a clearance from Arne Friedrich ended up at a Karlsruhe player a few meters out from the goal. Drobny turned away the first shot and Marc Stein showed reflexes just as sharp to block the second.

Karlsruhe started the second half very brightly indeed, and again, we were saved by Drobny on multiple occasions. Drobny’s been really spectacular this season, and our high position is just as much his as anyone’s. (I can’t believe how rarely he’s called up for the Czech national team. I know he’s unlikely to play behind Cech, but he’s at least worth the bench, isn’t he?) He even had a hand in the second goal, when it finally came- his long throw bounced in front of Pante, who guided it towards the substitute Domovchiyski, who sent the ball flying into the Karlsruhe goal.

He wasn’t the last substitute to score- in fact, all three of Hertha’s substitutes did. The third goal was considered the best of the lot- a lovely bit of one-touch football involving most of the attacking players that would make any of the ‘flair’ teams of the Bundesliga proud. And that would make Lulu proud. It’s the kind of game he wants us to play, but to his credit, is working from the ground up on- instilling confidence, structure, and defense. The move was finished off by young Swiss midfielder Fabian Lustenberger, who steered it in after his first shot was saved.

The last goal came from Raffael, two minutes later- another nice passing move ending with a nice low shot into the goal.

The Berliner Morgenpost had an interesting article about why Hertha is so successful this season. Lots of papers have tried to do that, but I think this is the most successful- a list of 10 things that they’ve improved on since last season. A lot of it was on display on Saturday. The team being the star, rather than an individual. A quality squad all around, with all three substitutes scoring. No over-reliance on one player. A good eye for transfers- while not all of them have worked out, we’ve unearthed enough gems to make it a success, and all four goalscorers Saturday hadn’t been at Hertha for longer than two seasons. And, a bit of luck, which every team needs now and again.

So we’re third. And it’s great. We’re not done yet, there’s still Olympiakos on Thursday. But forgive me if I’m pleased with the team for a day or two before I start thinking about that. (I just hope they’re not feeling the same way.)

Category: Team News, match reports

Tags: home, match reports, Team News

Subscribe   The Offside RSS Feeds

Print

Share