Berlin (AP) – Alexander Schwolow could only watch helplessly as the ball once again landed in the goal of Hertha BSC. Goal number 43 this season. And one that particularly hurt the Berlin Bundesliga team and the goalkeeper.
Schwolow rubbed his hands. The disappointment was written on the pale face of the 29-year-old, who has been representing Rune Jarstein for months after his corona infection. “We were unlucky when equalizing, the ball landed unluckily on the opponent – and they just had to push in,” said Schwolow.
His blunder also cost Hertha two important points, the 1-1 (1-0) win against VfL Bochum on Friday evening was not enough given a convincing first half. Especially against a direct competitor against relegation from the Bundesliga, whose own coach certified an “underground” duel behavior in the first half.
“The goal conceded was brutally annoying”
“We had promised ourselves more – especially after the first half, in which we were clearly the better team,” said Hertha’s new signing Marc Oliver Kempf. The club from Berlin-Charlottenburg threatens to come dangerously close to the relegation zone at the end of the 21st matchday.
And the culprit was the fact that the team, despite the best half according to coach Tayfun Korkut, only scored one goal under his leadership due to the superiority of the first half, and that once again the zero was not there. “The goal was brutally annoying,” said central defender and captain Niklas Stark. “We shouldn’t have conceded a goal like that. That really annoys me,” emphasized defender Kempf.
The game changed with the goal, said Korkut and struggled with the second half. Ishak Belfodil (23rd) put the Berliners in the lead. But Sebastian Polter (48th) created new conditions immediately after the restart.
Once again, the Hertha keeper didn’t look good
When Schwolow equalized, Jürgen Locadia’s shot deflected into the middle, where Polter, a former player from capital city rivals 1. FC Union Berlin, only had to push in. Not for the first time this season, the Hertha keeper didn’t look particularly good when conceding a goal.
The 29-year-old cannot always radiate the security that a team needs in the fight against relegation and in the search for consistency. Only bottom of the table SpVgg Greuther Fürth conceded more goals. Of the 21 games so far, the Berliners have only been able to finish three with a clean sheet.
Of the hoped-for and possible six points in just over a week against the two promoted teams, two are gone. “In Fürth we have to accept the fight again,” emphasized Schwolow and added, among other things, that they “shouldn’t make any mistakes at the back”.