Change of sides in the middle of the game
Referee shortens first half in Hertha win
February 16, 2024, 8:38 p.m
It never gets boring at Hertha BSC. The capital club turns the second division game against 1. FC Magdeburg thanks to a dream goal from Dardai. What’s strange is what the half-time break looks like: referee Florian Exner simply prefers the break.
Hertha BSC has continued its upward trend in the 2nd Bundesliga. At the start of the 22nd matchday, coach Pal Dardai’s team achieved their second win in a row in an attractive encounter with a 3:2 (2:1) win over 1. FC Magdeburg. At this game, too, fans protested against the planned entry of an investor into the German Football League.
In front of 52,652 spectators in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, captain Baris Atik put the guests, who had recently inflicted their first league defeat on leaders FC St. Pauli, in the lead in the 22nd minute. Hertha captain Fabian Reese with a penalty (33′) and Palko Dardai (39′) turned the game against ten Magdeburgers. Jean Hugonet was shown a red card in the 37th minute after an emergency stop.
Tobias Müller (51′) equalized despite being outnumbered, before Reese secured Hertha’s success with his second goal (59′). For Reese it was the fifth and sixth goals of the season as well as the first goals after his corona infection, which put him out of action for weeks. After the midfield duel, Hertha now has 32 points, Magdeburg remains at 27 points. In stoppage time, substitute Tatsuya Ito hit the crossbar and missed the equalizer again.
Referee Florian Exner from Münster found a diplomatic solution to the renewed fan protests. After the game was interrupted for around six minutes shortly before half-time due to tennis balls being thrown onto the field, the referee ordered the teams into the changing rooms and, after the half-time break, had the rest of the first half played before the sides were changed . There were several interruptions due to pyrotechnics from the Magdeburg block before and in the second half of the game.