It was a single, powerful scream that echoed through the Olympic Stadium. A scream from tens of thousands of throats. One in which there was not only joy but also a lot of relief. Only a few seconds were officially left to play in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup when the ball landed in the Hamburger SV goal. It was now 2:2 thanks to a powerful shot from Fabian Reese, which initially brought Hertha BSC into extra time. Hertha’s dream lived again.
The madness? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that. What was even more insane was that the whole thing repeated itself again at the end of extra time. HSV was ahead again thanks to a goal from substitute Ransford Königsdörffer, and there were only a few seconds left. To play And again it was Fabian Reese who kept his team in the game. This time with an assist to Jonjoe Kenny, who slotted the ball over the line to make it 3-3.
And so the penalty shootout had to decide this exciting and spectacular game. The Berliners had the better end for themselves. They won 5:3. While all five Hertha shooters converted, Königsdörffer was denied by goalkeeper Tjark Ernst. Fabian Reese converted the decisive penalty. Who else?
“I think it was a great evening for us,” said Hertha coach Pal Dardai. The success is financially worth 1.7 million euros for the Berliners. Above all, the dream of the final in our own stadium lives on. For the first time in eight years, Hertha BSC is back in the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup.
I think it was a great evening for us.
Pal Dardai, Coach of Hertha BSC
And who knows what else is possible if the Berliners perform like they did on Wednesday evening in the next round? Especially since only three first division teams, Bayer Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart and Borussia Mönchengladbach, are represented in the quarter-finals. “We have impressively proven that we can win the cup,” said Reese, who was the man of the evening with two goals and an assist.
Hertha’s coach Dardai had called up the team against HSV that had been on the pitch in the second half of the 5-1 win against Elversberg on Sunday. The previous regular central defenders Marc Kempf and Toni Leistner remained on the bench. But Leistner had to go on the field after just 20 minutes to replace the injured Linus Gechter.
Tim Walter, on the other hand, rotated on a large scale at HSV. Although Hamburg had had two more days of rest, their coach made seven changes after the derby against St. Pauli. Among other things, Robert Glatzel, the second league’s top goalscorer, only sat on the bench.
The many changes were noticeable in Hamburg’s game at the beginning. A lot of things seemed uncoordinated. The Berliners got up to speed quicker in front of 58,946 spectators in their home Olympic Stadium and also had the first opportunities of the game thanks to shots from Pascal Klemens and Jonjoe Kenny. As expected, HSV had the ball a lot, but rarely found its way into Hertha’s penalty area. In one or two promising attacks, the Hamburg team was ultimately too clumsy.
El-Jindaoui celebrates his professional debut
Almost logically, Hertha took the lead after 20 minutes. Fabian Reese tried free in front of goalkeeper Matheo Raab, played an unwanted one-two with the inside post and finally scored in the second attempt to make it 1-0.
Only after falling behind did HSV get into the game better. The fact that he didn’t have to chase the 0-1 score for long also helped him. Pherai, who had been rather sluggish and uninspired until then, shot unchallenged from 20 meters and put the ball hard next to the post. Tjark Ernst in Hertha’s goal stretched in vain.
After the equalizer, Hertha found itself increasingly forced back into the defensive and waited for a counterattack. HSV won the game and had further chances. The best was missed by Laszlo Benes, who shot the ball past the goal from eleven meters after Andras Nemeth put it down.
Hamburg’s midfielder actually only has good memories with Hertha. He scored his only two Bundesliga goals against the Berliners, one for Gladbach and one for Augsburg. He also scored in the league game in August. Shortly before the break it happened again. Ernst just got his hand on a cross into the six-yard box, but was unable to make a decisive clearance: Benes made it 2-1 for the guests.
Coach Dardai reacted in the second half, bringing on Gustav Christensen for Derry Scherhant. But the guests had the first opportunity. Again through Benes, who hit the post with a corner. But Hertha worked its way into the game and had a brilliant chance with a header from Haris Tabakovic, which was just as brilliantly thwarted by HSV goalkeeper Matheo Raab.
Dardai brought in all available offensive players, including Nader El-Jindaoui, who made his professional debut at the age of 27. Hertha, driven above all by the outstanding Reese, fought against elimination with the courage of desperation. Hertha saved itself in extra time, Hertha also saved itself in the penalty shootout – and in the end actually left the field as the winner.