Well, what a difference a week makes! On match day 11 Hertha lost 1:4, at home against Borussia Monchengladbach. Just one week later they pull off a spirited, confident away win in Hannover securing the fourth place in the Bundesliga table for at least two weeks until after the International break.
Who’s the guy in the Turban? It’s our turbaned hero Salomon Kalou! In this game he finally came good in abundance with his first hat-trick for Hertha and in the Bundesliga. In fact, I believe I am correct it was the first Hertha hat-trick since 2010.
Who’s the guy in the Turban? It’s our turbaned hero Salomon Kalou! In this game he finally came good in abundance with his first hat-trick for Hertha and in the Bundesliga. In fact, I believe I am correct it was the first Hertha hat-trick since 2010.
The fun in games started in earnest in the 33rd minute when a well weighted pass from Genki Haraguchi found Kalou in the box who produced some magic footwork to: thread a shot through a defenders legs, past the keeper and into the back of the net. Thirty minutes later in the second half found Hertha counter attacking with a pass from Darida to Salomon Kalou in Hertha’s own half. On another day this would had led to nothing but today? Today the Ivorian was on fire and he showed a clean pair of heels to the H96 defenders running half the length of the pitch and having the confidence to slot it past the hapless keeper for his second.
Ten minutes later Marvin Plattenhardt gave away a penalty that Kiyotake slotted to give Hannover a chance albeit a small one. The death nail for H96 came in the 87th minute when Wieser was brought down in the Hannover box giving Kalou his chance for win his match ball. The penalty wasn’t great and the keeper got a hand to it but hey, it was good enough and the game ended 1:3 and all three points were on the way home to Berlin!
Ten minutes later Marvin Plattenhardt gave away a penalty that Kiyotake slotted to give Hannover a chance albeit a small one. The death nail for H96 came in the 87th minute when Wieser was brought down in the Hannover box giving Kalou his chance for win his match ball. The penalty wasn’t great and the keeper got a hand to it but hey, it was good enough and the game ended 1:3 and all three points were on the way home to Berlin!
As I suggested in my post on the 5th of October (On the 25th Anniversary of Reunification - HSV ) Salomon Kalou appears to be finding his feet. Not only did he get his first hat-trick but he was “awarded” player of the week by Bundesliga.com based on his performance. It was interesting to hear in an interview during the week that although Kalou picked up positive vibes from Pal Dardai communication was not as easy as it could be as Kalou’s German is not that good yet and Pal does not speak either French or English. Perhaps some of Kalou’s leap of form results from the arrival of Vedad Ibisevic who speaks fluent French. It must help cooperation between the two strikers. Who knows? Do I care? As long as this rich vein of form carries on for a season or two (or three) - perhaps not!
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