Reconciliation of the Herthan with the audience
Before the kick-off in the Berlin Olympic Stadium, there was initially a reconciliation between the team and the fans. The team ran together in front of the curve and clapped along with the spectators. After the 1: 4 in the city derby against Union Berlin, some of the supporters pressed the players and demanded that they hand over their jerseys.
With a positive audience behind them, the hosts started concentrated and visually slightly superior. However, not much went towards the goal at first. Selke fired the first warning shot (5th), but that was all.
Marcel Lotka misses Widmer’s shot
Mainz moved well against the ball and looked for the way forward with fast diagonal play. The lead came from one of these situations: Widmer moved in from the right, Karim Onisiwo put the ball in his path and shot into the near corner with a shot from a tight angle. However, Berlin goalkeeper Marcel Lotka did not cut a good figure because the ball slipped under his body.
The blow to the neck was not good for the Berlin game. Mainz looked confident and scored again in the 35th minute through Anton Stach. However, Leandro Barreiro, standing offside, blocked the view and referee Patrick Ittrich disallowed the goal.
When it looked like a break, Hertha’s video assistant came to the rescue. At a corner, Dedryck Boyata was pressed from behind by Mainz defender Moussa Niakhaté. After a long video study, Ittrich decided on a penalty and Selke scored to equalize.
Bell’s hit shocked Hertha
In the second half, too, many actions on both sides remained piecemeal. Berlin hardly appeared at all in front. Mainz continued to have the better scenes. A goal by Onisiwo (52′) was disallowed for handball and Lotka reacted brilliantly on the line to a Widmer header (75′). In the end, however, Bell headed in after a corner kick.
Driven by the home crowd, Hertha fought to equalize again, but substitute Luca Wollschläger (88th) did not succeed in more than a shot into the post. Another Selke hit didn’t count because the striker pushed him (90+1).
Derby for Mainz at the end
Hertha BSC has to go to runners-up Borussia Dortmund on the last matchday (May 14, 2022, 3:30 p.m.). The Mainz team, who were placed in midfield and saved, say goodbye in front of their home crowd at the same time as the Rhein-Main derby against Eintracht Frankfurt from the 2021/22 season.
Source: db