The North Germans win a disjointed game in the capital and stay in the promotion race. But the game is overshadowed by protests.
A memorable evening in Berlin – in which the action on the pitch was no longer the focus at times: Hamburger SV won the Saturday evening game of the 2nd Bundesliga at Hertha BSC 2-1 (0-0) and thus secured three important points Promotion race secured.
Miro Muheim (57th) and Ludovit Reis (82nd) scored for the guests, Haris Tabaković (62nd) scored the temporary equalizer for the Berliners, who suffered their third competitive defeat in a row.
However, the game was overshadowed by fan protests, with supporters in the stands causing a disruption that lasted more than 30 minutes. Tennis balls repeatedly flew onto the playing field in protest against the DFL’s controversial investor plans (read more about this here). In the end the game was resumed from the 53rd minute.
HSV now has a direct promotion spot again. City rivals FC St. Pauli (42 points) are currently away at the top of the table, but Hamburg (37) is at the top of the pursuers. Holstein Kiel (36) and SpVgg Greuther Fürth (35) are still within striking distance. As tenth, Hertha (26) no longer plays a role in the promotion race for the time being.
This is how the game went:
Before the break, Hamburg was basically superior, but both teams had good chances: In the 17th minute, a header from Andras Nemeth hit the crossbar, and on the other side Tabakovic (42nd) hit the post with his header. Early in the second half, the tennis balls started flying and referee Daniel Schlager sent the teams off the field when the score was 0-0 after 75 minutes – the game had only been played until the 53rd minute.
They returned after the throws were over and the game clock was reset to 52:30 minutes. The Hertha fans had recently rolled up their banner with the inscription “Finally stop investor madness, whether in the DFL or in the clubs”.
After the restart, HSV, who were clearly the better team in the first half, took the lead with an easy long-range shot from Miro Muheim (57th).
Shortly afterwards, HSV keeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes was only able to parry a shot from Hertha’s key player Fabian Reese, who came on as a substitute. Tabakovic won (62′). Ludovit Reis, who had just come into the game, headed the guests to victory in the final phase (83′).