By Paul Gorgas
This frustration draw hurts!
Hertha gave away the win in Mainz at the last second, conceded the 1-1 through Anthony Caci (25/90.+4 minutes). Hertha coach Sandro Schwarz (43) after his bitter return to the 05ers: “It feels brutal. Especially after the experience against Leverkusen, these are the next two points that we don’t have.”
But while against Bayer (2: 2) the anger at the referees prevailed in the end, the Berliners are looking for the blame in their own ranks after the Mainz shock – Hertha is reckoning with itself!
Ex-Mainzer Jean-Paul Boetius (28) disappointed: “In the first half we kept calm and built up the game, that was no longer the case in the second half. Then we’ll play along with Mainz – that’s just stupid.”
What Boetius means: Instead of letting the ball run in an orderly and controlled manner as in the first half, the Black Elf gets involved in many duels in the second round, in the end almost only plays long passes and is in the back. Captain Marvin Plattenhardt (30): “We no longer looked for the meters forward. The people of Mainz built that up.”
Until the equalizer falls with the last stoppage-time action. The people of Mainz celebrate it exuberantly, to the annoyance of their ex-colleague Boetius. After the final whistle, he confronts his old friends in the cabin aisle and explains to BILD: “That actually says it all. They’re happy with one point and we’re angry and disappointed.”
The ambitious midfielder continued: “It hurts. We were stupid enough to play the Mainz game. We have to sort it out together on the pitch, that wasn’t clever.” And Coach Schwarz also knows: “It’s normal for you to let yourself be impressed. We got involved in the wrestling match and had little relief.”
And after the final whistle two points too little. Defender Marc Kempf (27) warns: “If something like this happens to you too often, you’ll end up missing very important points. It will be our next step to get a lead over time in such situations.”
So that next time Hertha leaves the field as the winner after 94 minutes.