Hertha BSC gave up the win against second-placed Holstein Kiel in stoppage time. Timo Becker scored a penalty at the very end.
In the end, the capital team had to be content with a 2:2 (2:0) against Kieil on Friday evening (01.03.24). Promotion hopeful Kiel averted its second bankruptcy in a row after losing to leaders FC St. Pauli.
Berlin coach Pal Dardai showed the right instinct when it came to his formation: Haris Tabakovic, who was attacking for Florian Niederlechner, put Hertha in the lead with two goals before the break (17th, 45th + 1). As a result, the “Storks” were superior in terms of play, but the guests did not have any compelling chances to score.
Kiel is lucky – Kenny only hits the crossbar
KSV coach Marcel Rapp made two substitutions in the second half of the game, but good scoring opportunities were still in short supply. Instead, Kiel were lucky that a well-taken free kick from Hertha’s right-back Jonjoe Kenny touched both the bottom edge of the crossbar and the back of Kiel keeper Timon Weiner, but did not land in the goal.
And good luck again for Kiel
Central defender Patrick Erras in particular pushed his Kiel colleagues from the defense and was more often involved in the build-up of the game, even finding his way to the goal himself. But it took a bit of luck for KSV to score: Finn Porath, who was also very active, took a dropkick at the edge of the penalty area. Jeremy Dudziak unintentionally deflected the ball with his knee, which ended up hitting the Berlin goal completely unstoppable.
Dennis Wiese, Sportschau, March 1st, 2024 9:12 p.m
The “Storks” pushed for an equalizer in the final phase, which was then crowned with success. After a foul by Linus Gechter, the at least controversial penalty brought the equalizer according to video evidence from Becker.
Becker praises Kiel’s fighting spirit
“We showed that we are a really strong team away from home. We never give up”said the equalizer Becker, who also praised the Berlin backdrop. Hertha’s double goalscorer Tabakovic struggled with his team’s style of play in the final third: “We didn’t finish our chances. Then it’s always a fight and they have a lot of quality.” And his teammate Reese also said: “It feels like a defeat.”
The next difficult test for Hertha BSC is on matchday 25 with the away game against league leaders FC St. Pauli (March 10, 2024, 1:30 p.m.). Kiel welcomes Karlsruher SC on Saturday (1 p.m.).