Hertha’s disappointment at being eliminated from the DFB Cup initially seemed even greater than the backdrop of this special evening. The game also provided important insights. And hope for great consolation.
As Fabian Reese, winger and hopeful in the service of Hertha BSCimmediately after the final whistle of the DFB Cup quarter-final against 1. FC Kaiserslautern Like a towel hanging out to dry over an advertising board, it was clear: There would be no chance of winning the cup or at least the final in our own stadium. And: Football fairy tales don’t come true just because they could have been so beautiful.
Everything was arranged. An opponent with a famous name, but apparently beatable. The stadium was sold out and, thanks to an enchanting choreo, was filled with maximum atmosphere. “We Herthaners” could be read across half of the stadium. A reminiscence of the late President Kay Bernstein. Because of which the big violin hung over this evening again.
Hertha BSC loses the DFB Cup quarter-final against Kaiserslautern 1:3
Hertha’s dream of the final at home has shattered. In front of a sold-out crowd, the Berliners clearly lost 3-1 against Kaiserslautern. Coach Pal Dardai had to adjust his line-up at halftime. This change came too late.more
His long-iconic training jacket as a memorial in the players’ locker room. There was also a statement from his widow, who thanked him for his sympathy over the past few weeks and at the same time asked that she now really fill her husband’s legacy with life. The “Berlin Way” should continue. A path that, and it’s almost cynical, only really became clear to the club and its members with Bernstein’s sudden death.
“The stadium could have been set on fire”
“Today it’s first and foremost: Victory! And thus come a little closer to Kay’s and our dream of the trophy! You’re there, I’m here,” concluded Eileen Bernstein-Rose. So everything is ready for a fairy tale. Or as Fabian Reese said after the game: “You could have set the stadium on fire and taken the whole city with you.” Would have. But things turned out differently, much to Reese’s chagrin: “It was a great opportunity. And sometimes you only have the chance to achieve something special once or twice in your life. Today was one. And we gave it away carelessly. I wanted to Definitely win the game. For Kay, for the fans, for the city.”
The duels were not accepted in the first 45 minutes, Reese continued, and the match plan was not consistently implemented. And then at the latest you have to object. Hertha came into the game with visible enthusiasm and defended themselves well in the duels. The rate of direct duels won indicated slight advantages for the Berliners in the first half.
However, Kaiserslautern won many of the decisive duels and that was also because they did it very, very well. Above all, defense chief Boris Tomiak and his front man, the six-man Julian Niehues, played an outstanding game. And then there was Tomiak’s partner Jan Elvedi, who gave the guests the lead in the fifth minute after a free kick followed by a pinball around the penalty area.
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A lot of will, little esprit
Fairy tales often have villains. However, Kaiserslautern was by no means suitable for this with a sparkling clean performance. The people of Palatinate were more likely to play spoilsport. And with an almost admirable consistency. Perhaps Hertha made it too easy for them. Berlin’s offensive game seemed static. There were few position changes, players rarely swapped positions or crossed to pose major problems for the Lauterer order. But perhaps, Hertha coach Pal Dardai will still have to give the answer, that was exactly the match plan for this game. Dardai had surprisingly switched to a three-man chain, almost mirroring Kaiserslautern’s system. Maybe there should be a lot of 1:1 situations on the pitch. In the hope of getting the better end for yourself through a supposedly higher individual quality.
Instead, Hertha’s players repeatedly got lost in pointless individual actions against an attentive opponent, which often showed a lack of class. In particular, Haris Tabakovic, who was always trying hard, repeatedly revealed glaring weaknesses, especially in receiving and carrying the ball. But the rule also applied elsewhere: a lot of will, little esprit. And that’s exactly what we needed after the early deficit. Hertha looked like a team that believed the key to solving the problem was within their own ranks, but only grew more and more annoyed by the minute that they couldn’t find it immediately.
“We definitely want to pull this thing off, we owe it to the fans”
Hertha BSC is in the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup for the first time in eight years. Before the duel with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, captain Toni Leistner speaks in an interview about a late premiere, the opponent from the Palatinate, Kay Bernstein’s legacy and Fabian Reese.more
Plug pulled
At the start of the second half, the momentum seemed to shift again and the fairy tale didn’t seem to have given up yet. The substitution of Fabian Reese not only changed the statics of Hertha’s game, which now played with a back four. But above all the dynamics. It’s almost grotesque what other energy this Fabian Reese brings to the pitch and to his team. But in the end he also lacked the precision and effectiveness that characterized Lautern so much that evening and in contrast. The plug was pulled at the latest with the 0:3 in the 69th minute, after at least the light had already flickered. Even Fabian Reese was powerless to counter the loss of energy from this goal, on the pitch and in the stands.
So an evening that should have been a chapter in a fairy tale became just another chapter in the seemingly endless story of Hertha’s cup defeats. And yet the fans sang their anthem as one after the final whistle. When Fabian Reese hung over an advertising hoarding like a towel left to dry. Maybe because they suspect that their club is currently in the process of writing a happy ending, even without living in a fairy tale.
Broadcast: Antenne Brandenburg, February 1st, 2024, 6:00 a.m
