Haris Tabakovic fails in the Karlsruhe penalty area against goalkeeper Patrick Drewes. Shortly afterwards things worked better together with Niederlechner Photo: dpa
From BZ/dpa
Hertha BSC is standing still and has lost touch with the upper regions of the table for the time being.
The Berliners couldn’t get past a 2-2 (2-1) draw against Karlsruher SC in their Olympic Stadium on Saturday evening.
In front of 58,851 spectators, an own goal from Deyovaisio Zeefuik (10th minute) put the guests in the lead. Fabian Reese (29th) and Florian Niederlechner (42nd) scored for Hertha before Leon Jensen (81st) equalized.
It was the second draw in a row for the capital club, who remain in twelfth place in the table. By winning points, KSC pushed Schalke 04 into relegation place 16.
Hertha’s Fabian Reese celebrates after scoring the 1-1 equalizer Photo: dpa
The decades-long fan friendship between the two clubs was celebrated in an atmospheric way before the game. The initial phase clearly belonged to the guests. Lars Stindl prevailed in the penalty area after a corner and pulled the ball sharply into the six-meter area. Zeefuik’s attempt to clear the ball landed in his own goal.
Hertha had a hard time on the offensive against Karlsruhe’s high attack, but the first successful attack brought the equalizer. Marton Dardai found Reese with a great opening pass between the lines. The ball came back down the wing to the 25-year-old, who headed it in from a difficult position.
Shortly before the break, KSC keeper Patrick Drewes was unable to consistently clear a corner. Hertha striker Haris Tabakovic acrobatically played the ball with a heel just in front of the goal, where Niederlechner scored with his head.
Reese (61′), Tabakovic (78′) and Klemens (79′) missed the decision from the best positions in the second half, but KSC also remained dangerous. Substitute Jensen’s double deflected shot brought about a draw.