. . eight minutes in and Nicolai Müller scored for Mainz . . . not a good start!

As a Hertha fan, when that first goal went in, my heart sank (again) and you think of all of times were games were thrown away. The same kind of defensive error that has been Herthas undoing so many times before allowed Müller in.

Having said this, soon after I was willing the team on again knowing they could do it . . . and do it they did!

Perhaps the turning point was when Sami Allagui was brought on in the 46th minute as two minutes later he got the equaliser! I don't want to build that up too much as it was a tap in from a cross from Ramos who had done the work but here was in the right place at the right time.

The second goal from Sami was a great boost, bringing those three points within sight. When Änis Ben-Hatira scored the third that was the icing on the cake and a joy to behold. 

Hertha enter the second round of the DFB Pokal tomorrow when they meet Kaiserslautern in the Fritz-Walter stadium. Kick off is at 19:00 CET and it is being shown on Sky.de but not on BT Sport for Uk viewers - boo hiss!

The team sheet announced by Hertha includes a number of old friends who are back in the team for the first time for a while. The team listed was as follows:

Kraft - Janker, Franz, Lusti, Holland - Schulz, Niemeyer, Cigerci - Sahar Allagui and Wagner up front.

I hope the team can come up with the goods tomorrow as we have already missed the creativity of Baumjohann since his loss to an ACL injury. It's been a while since Maik Franz, Christoph Janker or Fabian Holland have played so that a pretty "new" defence lineup there and in Mid-field Ronny has not been on the best of form as yet IMO.

Hertha could do with the income from a cup run as well as the confidence boost from a win under their belt. Fingers crossed and thumbs pulled!

We'll all my crossing fingers and pulling thumbs was in vain. The team choice was strange although I freely acknowledge the need for rotation. There were just so many changes . .

It was nice to see Peter Niemeyer get a goal as he worked so hard for Hertha last year. After that things went down hill. Getting knocked out of the Pokal 3:1 when we really needed a boost.

There are the inevitable cases of finger pointing directed at Jos Luhukay but it is way too early for any of that nonsense. We do need a boost soon as you can almost see confidence draining away in people's body language . .

John-Anyhony Brooks picked up an injury in the away match on Sunday against SC Freiburg after 20 minutes. It appears he make a bit of a mess of his right forearm. This included breaking the radius (the larger if the two bones in the forearm), tearing a muscle in the same forearm and also something I do not understand to his elbo! Something about "stretching trauma".

If I cut to the chase now, following an MRI scan the team doctor - Dr. Ulririch Schleicher says he will not be playing for two to three weeks. Hertha could do without this loss but we do have more depth then we used to. Let's hope we have enough depth.

You can stll use cash for the first four matches this season which includes up to the FSV Mainz match on the 28/09/2013.  After that I believe it will be card only.  I got mine from one of the girls that was registering them inside the ground on the first match of the season.  You hand over your 10EUR and it gets charged to the card and they hand it over - job done.  You buy stuff with the credit on the card and deosits for the mugs/glasses get
carged back ointo the card when you take them back.  You use it like an Oyster card for those familiar with that system.

I found a great little Hertha music video made by a couple of guys (Schwecke
& Thilo mit h) who I believe are musicians that have just started working together again this year.   The video is shot all around Berlin so spot the landmark!  Not surprisingly it features the Olympiastadion quite heavily!.

I found it after they made a comment (a nice one) about my magnificent Hertha Gartenzwerg on YouTube! 

Immer wieder Hertha the chorus

Blau Weiß                                              Blue White
Die Farben einer Hauptstadt                 The Colours of a capital city
Berlin                                                     Berlin
Mehr als eine Heimat                             More than a "home"
Du bist                                                   You are
Liebe Leben Herzschlag                        Love, life, the beating heart
Berlin                                                     Berlin
Und immer wieder                                 Again and again
Hertha                                                    Hertha!




You can buy the MP3 from this link if you like it -

http://www.amazon.de/Immer-wieder-Hertha/dp/B00EHLQX18

What a frustrating game to watch this was as Joachim Löw looked on from the stands. Hertha dominated the first half with nearly two thirds of the possession, more corners and more shots. But they lacked clinical finishing and shots went anywhere but in the net. I lost count of the number of times I threw my hands up only to end up grasping my head!! At half time it ended 0:0 but with a positive air in that Hertha were on top. It was not to last . . . .

In the second half Stuttgart "came out of the blocks" running but we were still putting our shoes on. We were caught napping and paid the price.  Hertha conceded a goal totally against the flow if the match up until that point and it was a real blow.
Hertha continued to battle on creating chance after chance but nobody could get it in the net.  Even in the closing minutes another chance appeared and then faded away once more.  It ended 0:1 and Hertha pick up no points again on this match day.
There is still much to be proud of not least of which is the support given by the fans but also the fact Hertha dominated a team that got to the DFB Pokal final last season and qualified for Europe (although they didn't stay there long). The numbers speak for themselves really: Hertha having 19 shots (compared to 8 from Stuttgart!) and winning 61% of the tackles.

Sure they came away with no points but if there was any justice in the world they deserved at least one. The worrying thing, in my opinion, is the finishing, and Jos Luhukay has some work to do in the coming week I think.  6:1 against Frankfurt feels like a long time ago now.  

Well, I have just spent 90 minutes watching England play Ukraine in the World Cup qualifiers. A pretty dull 0:0 draw leaves England top of their group (for now at least) but was it exciting? Er no!

Hey, I am not complaining too much as I am going to watch Hertha at the Olympiastadion on Friday. I am hoping for a good match and three points from this home match but the lads are going to have to fight for it. Loosing Alex Baumjohann to an ACL injury was a massive blow but it may give others a chance to shine. It was a shame that Stuttgart decided to wake up in the last game as well!  We will see on Friday who Jos Luhukay decides to play. I for one am looking forward to it

After the Champions League draw I noticed today that the Bundesliga site has
put up the exact dates for the future Hertha matches.  Book early . . 
All times in are in BST / GMT so add one hour for Berlin local time.

ST   Date            Time   Visiting team
  5   13.09.2013  20:30   VfB Stuttgart 
  7   28.09.2013  15:30   1. FSV Mainz 05
  9   19.10.2013  18:30   M'gladbach
11   02.11.2013  15:30   FC Schalke 04
13   23.11.2013  15:30   Bayer 04 Leverkusen
14   30.11.2013  15:30   FC Augsburg
16   13.12.2013  19:30   SV Werder Bremen
19   01.02.2014  15:30   FC Nürnberg
21   15.02.2014  15:30   VfL Wolfsburg
23   01.03.2014  15:30   Sport-Club Freiburg 
25   15.03.2014  15:30  Hannover 96
27   26.03.2014  20:00  FC Bayern München
29   05.04.2014  15:30  1899 Hoffenheim
32   26.04.2014  15:30  Eintracht Braunschweig
34   10.05.2014  15:30  Borussia Dortmund

I've uploaded a home game list/planner as a pdf below.  Use it if you like . . .

It appears Hertha have just signed another midfielder to give a little depth - Tolga Ciğerci a 21 year old German born Turkish player from Wolfsburg. He may occupy the bench a lot of the time but he could also be very useful since Alex Baumjohann appears to have done his ACL in the match against Wolfsburg (ironically) on Saturday. I would imagine he'll be out if the picture for six months now. It is widely reported that this is the case.

Hertha have also taken on the 26 year old Norwegian International midfielder Per Ciljan Skjelbred on loan from Hamburger SV where he has been since 2011. At Hertha he will wear the number 13 shirt. He arrives as a loan swap for Pierre-Michel Lasogga who moves to HSV until the end of the season.

Welcome Per and Tolga Ha Ho He!

This Summers Transfer Summary
New Arrivals:
Alexander Baumjohann  (1. FC Kaiserslautern),
Johannes van den Bergh   (Fortuna Düsseldorf),
Sebastian Langkamp  (FC Augsburg),
Hajime Hosogai  (Bayer 04 Leverkusen),
Per Skjelbred   (Hamburger SV - until the end of the season),
Tolga Cigerci  (VfL Wolfsburg - again, until the end of the season), 

Leavers:
Roman Hubnik (Back home to Viktoria Pilsen),
Felix Bastians (VfL Bochum), 
Alfredo Morales (FC Ingolstadt),
Marco Djuricin (Sturm Graz),
Daniel Beichler (Sturm Graz),
Marvin Knoll (SV Sandhausen) ,
Pierre-Michel Lasogga (seasons loan to Hamburger SV)