Hertha BSC managed a narrow 1-0 win in the away game in Dresden. After an interruption in the first half due to fan riots and the red card for Josip Brekalo, the Berliners held their nerve and secured victory despite being outnumbered.
- Hertha defeated Dynamo Dresden 1-0 in the top second division game
- The game was interrupted for almost 20 minutes because fans stormed the pitch
- Josip Brekalo was shown a red card in the 66th minute
- The Berliners now have 47 points in their account
Hertha BSC managed a 1-0 win against Dynamo Dresden and thus preserved the remaining hope of promotion to the Bundesliga. The game was interrupted for a long time in the first half due to fan riots. A goal from Marten Winkler decided the game.
The course of the game
Dresden got lucky early on when Fabian Reese was denied by Dresden goalkeeper Tim Schreiber after a mistake by Vincent Vermeij and ten minutes later Julian Pauli put a cross from Reese just wide of his own goal.
After almost twenty minutes Interruption of the game Due to fan riots (see below), the game continued in the Rudolf Harbig Stadium.
The hosts initially took the reins in terms of sport, but Hertha also rallied. Fabian Reese and Josip Brekalo in particular set the pace offensively. However, both teams missed great opportunities in the first half.
The game was just getting going when the Berliners suffered a bitter setback. New signing Josip Brekalo hit opponent Robert Wagner’s shin with an open sole and was shown a red card.
Very bitter for Hertha and coach Stefan Leitl, who reacted immediately with the substitutions of Marton Dardai and Kennet Eichhorn.
Then things got furious: First Tjark Ernst saved a penalty from Vermeij because Paul Seguin had previously touched the ball with his hand (77th minute). Shortly afterwards, Marten Winkler luckily headed the ball into the goal, making the final score 1-0 and three important points for the Berliners.
What was going on there?
After a loud bang was heard from the Hertha block, chaos broke out on the field and in the stands around the 19th minute. Dresden fans who were running towards the guest block on the pitch could only be stopped and pushed back by hundreds of police forces. The incident overshadowed the game and will be dealt with. You can read more about this here.
Player of the game
Tjark Ernst! After Josip Brekalo was sent off and the penalty whistle against Hertha BSC, things suddenly looked pretty dicey for the guests. “The game was lost in ten minutes” could have been the headline.
But not with the Hertha goalkeeper. Ernst saved Vermeij’s penalty and kept his team in the game. The game-winning goal came just a few minutes later – it was Ernst who made the lucky punch possible.
Countable
- Brekalo only saw 8 yellow cards in 140 Bundesliga and second division games, the red card in Dresden is his first sending off in Germany
- Stefan Leitl never lost against Dresden as a coach (now 4 wins and 3 draws)
- The assist to make it 1-0 for Hertha came from Fabian Reese – his 12th assist of the season
The voices for the game
Toni Leistner (Hertha BSC): “With Tjark we have the best goalkeeper in the league. […] And then of course you have to score such a disgusting goal. But from tomorrow onwards no one will ask how the 1-0 scoreline came about.”
Thomas Stamm (coach Dynamo Dresden): “We have to win the game. We couldn’t do that because we didn’t have the efficiency that you need against such an opponent.”
Stefan Leitl (Hertha BSC coach): “Huge compliments to Sven Jablonski, who moderated it very well here in the catacombs. Then you still try to find the focus again and that is of course difficult.”
The live ticker to read
Broadcast: rbb|24, April 4th, 2026, 11:50 p.m
Audio: rbb|24, April 4th, 2026, Lynn Kraemer in conversation with Antonia Hennigs and Uwe Karte in an interview with Toni Leistner
