Hertha BSC won 2-0 (0-0) against FC Augsburg in the relegation battle of the Bundesliga on Saturday (02/25/2023), it was an important win. Marco Richter also scored, which was not a surprise.
It was the 61st minute when Richter gave Hertha the lead. And of course that was a story: Richter, 25, had played for opponents FC Augsburg when he was young and later also in the Bundesliga. Richter then moved from Augsburg to Berlin a year and a half ago – and since then he has particularly enjoyed playing against his former club.
Richter has now played four games for Hertha against FCA, scoring three goals and providing one assist. Can you do that? Dodi Lukebakio scored the second goal for the Berliners in the 70th minute, it was his ninth goal of the season.
At FCA they will have remembered the first leg at the latest, they could certainly have done without it. Hertha also won 2-0 against Augsburg on Matchday 5, and Lukebakio and Richter scored then too.
Hertha now has 20 points and initially climbs to fourteenth place in the table. Augsburg is directly above them, they have 24 points there.
Niederlechner with the first excitement
Hertha got off to a better start in this game this time too. It was the 3rd minute when Florian Niederlechner took the shot from close range after Augsburg’s Niklas Dorsch lost the ball, but missed the goal by half a meter.
And that would almost have been the kind of story Richter was to write later in this game: Niederlechner, 32, had played for Augsburg for three and a half years before moving to Berlin in January.
There’s not much missing from Ngankam’s shot
It was to remain the only excitement for a while. In an intense game, there were a few duels to marvel at and sometimes successful combinations, but there were only a few chances to score. Augsburg didn’t have any in the first half, but Hertha still had Niederlechner’s and Jessic Ngankam’s just before the break.
In the 44th minute, Ngankam got the ball on the edge of the penalty area. A quick turn and a shot followed, not much was missing.
First Richter, then Lukebakio – two Hertha goals in nine minutes
The lead then fell after an hour when Augsburg’s Arne Maier, trained at Hertha, tried to clear a free-kick but played right at Richter’s feet. His shot from a good 25 meters landed in the bottom right corner. FCA goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz was on it, but he couldn’t prevent the goal.
Gikiewicz was also powerless for the second goal of the afternoon. After a free kick, Niederlechner extended his head and Lukebakio hit the left corner with a well-placed shot from twelve yards out. It was the decision.
Berlin in Leverkusen, Augsburg against Bremen
FC Augsburg will host SV Werder Bremen on the next matchday (Saturday, March 4th, 2023 at 3.30 p.m.). A day later, Hertha is challenged in Leverkusen (3:30 p.m.).