It's Easter weekend and no games on Good Friday so the 2. Bundesliga played on
Thursday this week so here is an early post for my Hertha blog! Eintracht
Braunschweig entertained Dynamo Dresden in the key fixture of the three matches
played on this first day on Spieltag 27.

It started well, from a totally biased Hertha perspective! Dresden scored in the eighth minute to give a 1:0 scoreline that lasted all the way until the 31st minute when Bicakcic for Dreseden burst my bubble!  Braunschweig went on to win 2:1 with a nice goal from Kumbela in the 53rd. This put Braunschweig at the top of the table, two points clear of Hertha. The game on Saturday where Hertha were visited by VfL Bochum could, and did, change all of that.

Hertha remained in control with no serious threats from Bochum.  They created a few chances but nothing that our Thomas Kraft could easily handle.  Hertha had a few chances including: one  for Allagui who had a one on one with the keeper but the shot went straight into him,  another where Ramos had a header that went just wide. Bochum were paying particular attention to Ronny and eventually Yasuke Tasaka picked up a yellow for his trouble! But Hertha went in at half time comfortable at 1:0. 

In the second half - in the 46th minute Nico Shulz ran through three defenders and knocked in the second with a great goal for Hertha!  What a start for the second half as well as the first!!  Hertha remained in control in this match through the second half and only ever looked at risk once with a defensive error by Kobi  (I think) but Thomas Kraft grasped the ball out of danger.  A double substitution by Bochum brought a little more life to their game when Freier and Aydin came on in the 67th minute but nothing that Hertha couldn't handle.

Hertha made a double substitution themselves as Ben Sahar and Alfredo Morales came on for Perr Kluge and Adrian Ramos respectively.  Also Christoph Janker came on for Ronny with 2 minutes to go. Ronny had played a massive part in the match, not least of which through that magnificent free kick at the start.

Both Ronny and Ben Sahar had chances near the end but the third was just not going to come.  What really matter is the three vital; points going to Hertha putting them at the top of the table once more.   Spitzenreiter   Spitzenreiter,  HEY HEY!! 

Kaiserslautern played on Sunday, and SV Sandhausen did us a small favour and the gap below to the playoff spot widened a little more. A 1:1 draw cost Kaiserslautern two points and the number three spot as FC Köln win at hapless Regensburg 2:1 and leapfrog them in the process. Hertha are now 13 points clear of Köln and the playoffs with just 21 points to play for. It could be worse!

This week we had two more international matches for both England and Germany. Unfortunately they were played almost at the same time although the match in Nürnberg started a little earlier.

I think I watched the wrong one . . .

Germany hosted Kazakhstan in the Stadion Nürnberg and once again played without an out and out striker. Mario Götze played "up front" as he did last Friday when Germany played in Kazakhstan.

I saw very little of this match, just a little at the start of each half. In fact the only thing I saw really was a howler by Manuel Neuer to let Schmidtgal score for Kazakhstan! Still, this was. More than matched by s BVB scoring triumph with Marco Reus scoring in the 23rd and 90th minutes, Mario Götze in the 27th and Ilkay Gündogan in the 32nd so Jogi will not be too disappointed I think. Jürgen Klopp might be feeling proud of his lads as well!

England, well, this wasn't too much fun to watch. Rooney scored in he fifth minute and also nearly caught the Montenegran keeper stumbling off his line with a lob over the top that caught the post. But too many chances were missed in the first half to leave it at 0:1 at the break.

England struggled in the second half and they lost the midfield. They were under the cosh for 20 minutes or so easily. Eventually they conceded a scrapy goal after Joe Hart made an initial save. From that save a game of pin ball ensued in a crowded box. It was no more than Montenegro deserved, one could easily argue that they deserved more from their second half performance.

For what felt like ages no changes were made from the bench although Lampard and Defoe were there and perhaps could have kick started England again. Eventually Ashley Young came on but it was too little, too late. There was a late surge in the last few minutes, especially in the three minutes of extra time but it ended 1:1.

There is a lot to play for in Group H. England are now two points behind Montenegro but with both Poland and Ukraine only four points behind. Germany on the other hand, are eight points clear at the top of Group C looking comfortable.

No Hertha game this week but there was a rash of World Cup qualifiers being played on Friday to act as a distraction!

I was able to watch both Germany play Kazakhstan and England play San Marino. Both matches provided comfortable wins for the European teams and I gather the USA team also won 1:0 against Costa Rica in "interesting" conditions.

Germany started with a "false nine" formation without a striker. Mario Gomez was not fit but you can't help wondering if this night be the future for Jogi's team. It was interesting seeing Julian Draxler of Schalke making a start. He started well but unfortunately a clash of heads left him in a bit of a spin and he had to go off in the 19th minute to be replaced by Lukas Podolski who picked up his 108th cap. Germany went on to win 3:0 with goals from Schweinesteiger, Götze and Muller. A pretty comfortable win, especially in the first half.

A little later England went on to play San Marino in a minor league like atmosphere albeit with the England fans with their band. It was hard to call a 8:0 thrashing a "match" but it was a good confidence booster for the team. The first goal was from a hapless San Marino defender who shinned a bullet into his own net. Others followed from: the Ox, a brace from Defoe, Frank Lampard, a nice"Ronny-esque" free kick from Rooney, a nice shot from Ashley Young and Sturridge (not in that order).

Eleven goals in one evening without reply - quite an evening of football

After the thrills and spills of last weeks encounter with the Zebras at the Olympiastadion Hertha travel down south to München to meet 1860 in Spieltag 26.

1860 have a bit of a mixed record of late; they have beaten Braunschweig but then they have lost against VfL Bochum who have been having torrid time of it in the Rückrunde. They are in mid table and wanting to climb a little higher at least whilst Hertha need to consolidate their lead and get of as many of the remaining 27 points as possible. Just 14 points will guarantee promotion!

Braunschweig meanwhile are on the road as well as they visit struggling (except against 1860) VfL Bochum this weekend. You have to fancy them taking three points there I think. Kaiserslautern, in third place are at home to Ingolstadt - that could be open up the playoff spot if 1FCK were to drop points at home.

The team published by Hertha via Twitter on the morning if the match is shown below - no Peter Niemeyer at all (he has flu along with Peer Kluge) and Fabian Holland is on the bench again . .

The game ended in a disappointing 0:0 but a vital point for Hertha as Kumbela scored for Braunschweig in the 85th minute to bring them within a point of Hertha at the top of the table.

On Sunday Kaiserslautern won at home against Ingolstadt and so narrows the gap with Hertha to "just" twelve points with 24 points left to play for in eight games.  We need twelve points from those remaining games to be sure FCK cannot catch us and that is by no means certain.  We could still have a big fight on our hands depending on how FCK does in their matches but Köln could still put a spanner in their works and on Monday they took a major step towards that.  They beat Dynamo Dresden 0:2 in Dresden.  This means they are only one point off Kaiserslautern and that play off spot and thirteen ponts behind the OLd Lady.  

It of course goes without saying that Braunschweig could put a spanner in our works on Spieltag 28!   There is still a great deal to play for in this season . . . .

On Saturday we went to visit the DDR Museum near the Dom / cathedral in Berlin. I'm not big on museums normally but this was a good one. It is quite small but the design makes very good use of the limited space available.

There were examples of everyday artefacts from the old "East Germany" ranging from the classic old Trabant (2-stroke compact "people's" car) to children's books and toys. You can even sit in the Trabant if you like. The displays were really interesting and labelled in both German and English. The later covers must visitors from outside Germany.

There is a great cafe attached to the museum selling foods from the east including the Ossie versions of Bockwurst, Currywurst and pizza! I understand the cafe was frequented by the great and the good in the 90's after the wall came down. The visiting celebs including Otto Rehagel for those interested in Bundesliga History.

Anyway, well worth s visit for 6€. One last thing, one wall in the cafe has a fresco painted in the 1960s in the "soviet style" - see below

The Monday match for the 2. Bundeslia was the second v third place battle between Eintracht Braunschweig and Kaiserslautern.  The first half didn't really look too convincing for either side but the deadlock was broken by Mitchell Weiser in the 44th minute.  1FCK had chances but their strikers didn't really feel up to taking them.  Then, in the78th minute Braunschweig made them pay the price when, who else but Dominick Kumbela knocked in the equaliser.  There were chances after this but none were taken and it ended 1:1 with a point each.

Hertha are now at the top of the table, three points clear of Braunschweig!  They are also 14 points clear of the playoff spot as well!  Spieltag 25 has been a great weekend for Hertha BSC - fabulous!

Hot on the heels of their home win against Braunschweig in Spieltag 24. the Blue Zebras of MSV Duisburg come to the Olympiastadion on Sunday the 10th. It looks like it will be quite cool on Sunday. The forecast says -2°C with perhaps a little snow. Lets hope Hertha will give the Zebras a cool reception and get back to winning ways on the weekend!

On Match Day 
MSV have had a mixed bag of results leading up to this match. Six points from a possible 15 with with three draws one win but one loss in the last five matches. Hertha have three wins, one draw and a loss in the same period. But, importantly, Hertha came back from Dresden with nothing last week so we have lost some momentum recently.

Hertha will need to be careful, Duisburg very sportingly beat Braunschweig in the last game so they will be no push over. We have absolutely no grounds for complacency but we can, and must, win this one.. We need every point here as a lot could happen still between now and the end if the season with 30 points still up for grabs.

On Spieltag 25, as always, much may depend on which Ronny comes out to play on Sunday.  Well I hope I hope he enjoys playing in the snow! I woke up on match day to find a sea of white outside, with snow "flakes" the size of large marbles floating down from the depressingly normal grey Berlin sky.

The Match.
A great home win for Hertha who romp home against the Zebras with goals from Adrian Ramos, Ronny and a brace from Sami Allagui. It was a little confused at the time where one of the goals from Sami was thought to be an own goal by a defending Zebra. When I got home my apps were all crediting Sami and I am sure he will take it!  The final whistle saw a scoreline of 4:2 and a joyous crowd - Ha Ho He Hertha BSC!

This leaves Hertha top of the table and, until Monday at least, 15 points clear of Kaiserslautern and four points from Braunschweig. We will be top on Monday no matter what happens! 

If Kaiserslautern win - we remain four points clear at the top although the gap above the playoff spot is cut back to twelve.
If Braunschweig win - it leaves Hertha with a massive 15 points gap above the playoff spot with only 27 left to play for!

Spitzenreiter Spitzenreiter Hey Hey!

On Saturday Hertha travel to Dresden for Spieltag 24. As discussed in previous posts our position is strong in the league but I will always take one game at a time.  Dynamo Dresden are in 16th place in the league in the playoff spot. They must have been pretty desperate to get themselves away from that drop zone and no doubt their supporters will be "enthusiastic" . .

Hertha were victorious in the Olympiastadion back in September but only courtesy of an own goal by Bregerie in the fifth minute. Since then Hertha have had more time to gel as team and will be very much on a high after the game on Monday against Kaiserslautern . . .

The Hertha team on the day
Kraft, Pekarik, Kobiashvili (not Holland), Brooks, Lustenberger, Kluge, Niemeyer, Schulz, Wagner, Lasogga, and Ramos. No start for Ronny or Ndjeng as originally published.

Ndjeng is appears has torn a muscle in his thigh in the warm up before the match. That's a real downer, he'll be not playing for a while now.

The game was not really an inspiring one to be honest. Hertha had a fair amount of possession at the start but did not really capitalise on any of it. Perhaps we missed Ronny in behind to make that little difference. Gradually, Dresden picked up the pace and put Hertha under quite a bit of pressure which eventually lead to a scrappy goal in the 38th minute. I originally thought it was headed in by Poté but it was written down to the hapless Lasogga as an own goal. On the replay it clearly came off the poor mans head and he looked gutted about it as well. One of our guys should have got that ball away but this was not our day.  Eventually Ronny came on in the 69th minute but it was not enough to save Hertha. No miracle goals this time and, sadly, the 21 game unbeaten run came to an end in Dresden.

It is never a good sign when the player you single out as the target of your praise in a game is your keeper -Thomas Kraft. He is a great player and I am glad we have him but, I would rather he had nothing to do!

Köln only managed a 1:1 draw on Sunday so that reduces the pressure on the third place in the table. More importantly, Duisburg did us a massive favour on Monday by winning 1:0 at home against Braunschweig. So, for Hertha, at the end of Spieltag 24 . . . Spitzenreiter, Spitzenreiter, Hey Hey!