Well it’s been an eventful week and the Old Lady has been a busy girl! First she stepped up for the first round of the DFB Pokal and, unlike last year, despatched Armenia Bielefeld with a 2:0 score line to see them into the second round in October against FSV Frankfurt. To say it was easy would be stretching it to the point of almost disappearing! Having said this Nico Schulz made a fine run down the left flank and produced a cross to Salomon Kalou that my eighty nine year old mother-in-law could probably have scored from! The second goal in the 88th minute from Vladimir Darida was a cracker and I hope it was the shape of things to come. Perhaps I shouldn’t make slight of Kalou’s contribution as he’s in desperate need of confidence and when it comes to it, a goal is most certainly a goal!
In the first game in the Bundesliga Hertha travelled to Bavaria and FC Augsburg who finished last season in fifth place and direct qualification to the Europa League. This meeting was never going to be easy but hope springs eternal and on this occasion there was at least some justification.
It says it all when in my opinion the man of the match (like in so many games in the past) was Thomas Kraft. If for no other reason than the two cracking saves he made in the last minute to deny Augsburg the equalizer they were pushing so hard to get. Having said this at one point in the first half Salomon Kalou did some nice footwork in the box to evade two defenders to get a shot away that was blocked to send the ball off the post and away.
In the first game in the Bundesliga Hertha travelled to Bavaria and FC Augsburg who finished last season in fifth place and direct qualification to the Europa League. This meeting was never going to be easy but hope springs eternal and on this occasion there was at least some justification.
It says it all when in my opinion the man of the match (like in so many games in the past) was Thomas Kraft. If for no other reason than the two cracking saves he made in the last minute to deny Augsburg the equalizer they were pushing so hard to get. Having said this at one point in the first half Salomon Kalou did some nice footwork in the box to evade two defenders to get a shot away that was blocked to send the ball off the post and away.
A cracking save from Thomas Kraft to tip a shot onto and then over the bar in first half kept the score even. A decisive point in the game in many ways was when Raul Bobadilla was sent off for his second yellow following a pretty dangerous challenge that ended up with his leg crashing into Fabian Lustenberger’s midriff. No idea what the FCA bench were complaining about in that it was a pretty obvious yellow so he had to go. Perhaps they realised it was a pretty crazy challenge by Bobadilla and were as much frustrated by their own player beneath it all.
After the break, with a man advantage, Kalou was tripped in the box and it was a clear cut decision for the ref to point at the spot. The “face-palm” from Augsburg’s trainer Markus Weinzierl after the foul conveyed his thoughts on the matter pretty clearly. The keeper went the right way but Kalou struck it hard enough for it to go clean under him giving Hertha the 1:0 lead.
After the break, with a man advantage, Kalou was tripped in the box and it was a clear cut decision for the ref to point at the spot. The “face-palm” from Augsburg’s trainer Markus Weinzierl after the foul conveyed his thoughts on the matter pretty clearly. The keeper went the right way but Kalou struck it hard enough for it to go clean under him giving Hertha the 1:0 lead.
It must have been an afternoon for crazy pointless challenges as Roy Beerens running down the same line that saw the departure of Bobadilla lashed out with his boot missing the ball completely but taking out his opponent in dramatic style. Not one of Roy’s finest moments and the man advantage was gone.
Hertha then had to weather a storm as Augsburg now had their tail up and were really going for it. A free kick struck hard and almost true beat the wall and Thomas Kraft with only the post keeping it equal. Then a superb reaction save Kraft’s boot from another close range shot closely followed a few seconds later by tipping the ball over the bar to retain all three points for the old lady. A superb performance from Hertha’s keeper kept them in front to the end.
Perhaps Hertha can come out of this week with two crumbs of comfort. The first being knowledge that they have a top class keeper in the form of Thomas Kraft. The second being, with two goals in a week, perhaps we have started to see a glimpse of what Salomon Kalou can do if his confidence and form returns.
Hertha then had to weather a storm as Augsburg now had their tail up and were really going for it. A free kick struck hard and almost true beat the wall and Thomas Kraft with only the post keeping it equal. Then a superb reaction save Kraft’s boot from another close range shot closely followed a few seconds later by tipping the ball over the bar to retain all three points for the old lady. A superb performance from Hertha’s keeper kept them in front to the end.
Perhaps Hertha can come out of this week with two crumbs of comfort. The first being knowledge that they have a top class keeper in the form of Thomas Kraft. The second being, with two goals in a week, perhaps we have started to see a glimpse of what Salomon Kalou can do if his confidence and form returns.
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