We had a fantastic, if somewhat nervous afternoon at the Olympiastadion this afternoon along with a comparatively small turnout of 29,851 supporters. Hertha went on to win 2:1 after conceding the first goal in the 55th minute due to an unlucky block ending up being knocked in at the second attempt!
The crowd went bonkers inside the first minute when a shot from Kluge nearly made it 1:0 after less than 20 seconds! If that had gone in I can't help thinking it would have been a bit of a goalfest but, it wasn't to be.
Hertha dominated possession in the first half but I felt they didn’t make the best of some of their chances. Some were lost due to long balls sailing in towards empty spaces, others to passes to players in offside positions. Ronny had a half chance at one point but he hesitated and didn’t just turn and pull the trigger.
There were a few fouls in the first half and Nils Texeira (FSV) picked up a yellow for his troubles in the 20th minute but Hertha went in at half time at 0:0.
The second half was a very different affair when in the 55thminute Michael Gorlitz scored for FSV after an initial shot was blocked and he then struck it home on the rebound leaving Kraft with no chance. The crowd were pretty shocked and quiet it had been against the flow of play I felt. Hertha have scored late in the game before recently so all was not lost.
In the 57th minute Ben Sahar was replaced by Hany Mukhtar closely followed by Sami Allagui being replaced by Elias Kachunga. Lastly, in the 80th minute Sandro Wagner was brought on for Peer Kluge and we were committed. Then in the 82nd minute Ndjeng scored for Hertha and I went a bit bonkers – not sure about the rest of the crowd!!!
Then, in the 84th minute, two minutes later RONNY!! Hertha get the winner right at the last which always makes foe a great feeling. The crowd were singing "Spitzenreiter! Spitzenrighte!" (I think!) as Hertha rise to the top of the table - a wonderful feeling
A few photos from before the match below -