After the International break and the tragic events in Paris the week before Hertha were to face TSG Hoffenheim who were firmly rooted to the foot of the table. Things have not always gone well for Hertha against this team and, if I remember correctly, they inflicted the heaviest loss I have witnessed personally in 2014. Also, if I remember correctly, Jay Brooks gave away a penalty and got sent off in separate incidents so perhaps TSG is a bogey team for him. Having said this, the visitors form (and luck) this season has been terrible and this match was always going to be different.
The game on Sunday was eventful, but perhaps not for the best of reasons. The additional security prompted many (including myself) to arrive earlier at the Olympiastadion. Having said this, in my experience this didn’t cause me any delays in getting into the stadium and if anything it went any more smoothly than normal. Before the match the French Tricolour was spread out on the pitch and a minutes silence was held in solidarity with Paris. It’s always quite moving when that many people (37,045) can keep silent as a mark of respect no matter what the cause. There are always one of two idiots but there were only one or two.
The game wasn’t always pretty if I was honest. Although Hertha had much of the possession when chances and even half chances came there was always a slight: mistimed pass, slip, trip or some other misfortune that resulted in the attack breaking down. The well-publicised statistic that this game failed to produce a single shot on target says much about how the game progressed and the catalogue of errors was added to when the ball came off the head of Eugen Polanski into his own net. The frantic scooping of the ball by Baumann failed to prevent the goal being awarded and Hertha were in front, somehow. The second half saw Hoffenheim playing a more active part but where they managed to create chances some of their “shots” were catastrophically wayward, some going into low orbit. There were some nervous moments when all of this was going on. It’s not good for your nerves, being a Hertha fan!
The most dramatic this about the match was the mini blizzard during the match! I was expecting a bit of sleet but not the pitch covered in snow and impressive efforts to clear the snow laid on for half time entertainment. But perhaps I exaggerate. It may have not been pretty but a win is a win and those three points put Hertha back into fourth place for another week. From this fans perspective, more importantly, one step closer to safety. Once we’re safe then we can worry about where we end up in the table!
Here is a bit of fun playing with the time lapse function on my phone before the match. It would be cool to film all of the fans arriving in the Ostkurve from start to finish but I really couldn't be bothered to stand around holding my phone up for that long!
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