2nd league
Pointing a finger to the sky: Hertha’s emotional commemorative matchday
Hertha professional Haris Tabakovic remembered the late President Kay Bernstein after his goal. photo
© Andreas Gora/dpa
Hertha BSC held a worthy memorial service for its late President Bernstein. The difficult game against Düsseldorf ends in a draw, but that seems secondary.
Haris Tabakovic only knew one way after his goal. Quickly to Substitute bench. There the striker held up the black T-shirt with the print “We Herthaners in deep mourning” and then raised a finger to the sky. It was a silent greeting from the goalscorer.
The only possible greeting and the only possible gesture after a moving memorial service by the Berlin second division soccer team before the start of the second half of the season against Fortuna Düsseldorf for its president Kay Bernstein, who died unexpectedly.
After Tabakovic (30th minute), Derry Scherhant (45th + 1) scored for Hertha, but also Isak Bergmann Johannesson (44th) and Christos Tzolis (49th/penalty kick) for Düsseldorf, Tzolis (56th) scored one another penalty shot next to the goal, so that the game ended 2:2 (2:1), which was just the statistical continuation of an emotional, cold football Sunday in the Olympic Stadium, which had been turned into a place of remembrance.
The pure numbers show that Hertha is now unbeaten for ten games in a row, but is not moving up in the promotion race for a direct return to the Bundesliga and is still five points behind its rival Düsseldorf. Fact, yes. But not primarily significant. The grief for Bernstein, who died on Tuesday at the age of 43, overshadowed everything for Berliners.
Dardai with tears
Hertha coach Pal Dardai had tears in his eyes as the players stood in the center circle and everyone observed a minute’s silence in the stadium shortly before kick-off. The importance of Bernstein for Hertha became clear once again in the collective remembrance. “Kay was a person who touched us. He was a person who never spoke down from above. He never asked what was good for Kay. He always asked what was good for Hertha BSC,” said Dardai on Sky.
But how would the team react, after days of sadness and emotions and after a pre-game that did not fit in with the actual football rituals with a funeral march of 7,000 fans, Christian devotions and contemplative music. Grief can be paralyzing, that was also clear to Dardai. “You can’t put into words how difficult it was. Everyone has their own family, their own fate. Grief is something personal,” said the Hungarian.
His team reacted stably in front of 42,209 spectators and controlled the game. Scherhant had an early shot opportunity (8th). But none of the teams took any risks. Fortuna held back as decently as their own fans had silently supported the worthy setting of the Bernstein memorial, at least in the run-up to the game. For a long time, this game didn’t look like a fight for a promotion place at all.
Shot at 105 km/h
Scherhant, the Berlin native, was the one who ran the most. When his counterattack threatened to fizzle out, the ball came to Tabakovic, who hit it into the goal at a speed of 105 kilometers per hour. The cheering was a liberation. Shortly after the center forward hit the post (42nd), Fortuna had their first chance to equalize with Bergmann Johannesson’s long-range shot. But Scherhant didn’t want to leave it like that. His powerful shot to take the lead again from a similar position to Tabakovic was one kilometer per hour faster.
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Düsseldorf shed its noble reserve. Equalized with Tzoli’s penalty goal. And after Marc Oliver Kempf’s second penalty foul, they could have almost taken the lead with a curious doublet. Now the guests were clearly the better team. The Hertha ultras, to whom Bernstein once gave rhythm and voice as a lead singer in his eventful football life, were silent the entire game. Bernstein’s presidential seat in the main stand featured his signature blue and white club jacket, megaphone and white roses.
Magdeburg overtakes Wehen Wiesbaden
Meanwhile, Tatsuya Ito shot 1. FC Magdeburg to victory at the start of the second half of the season. The Japanese substitute scored against SV Wehen Wiesbaden after 80 minutes to make it 1-0 (0-0) and in front of 22,582 spectators ensured that the Magdeburgers overtook the guests in the table. Wehen Wiesbaden played the final minutes outnumbered after Amar Cadiz was shown a yellow-red card in the 84th minute. Magdeburg is now six points ahead of the relegation relegation place, Wehen Wiesbaden is five.