Hertha BSC lost two leads in the away game at SpVgg Greuther Fürth. At 3:3 (1:2), the Franconians around their captain Branimir Hrgota never gave up.
The goals for Hertha BSC were scored by Reese (33rd minute) and a brace by Luca Schuler (36th and 62nd). Branimir Hrgota (42′) and Felix Klaus (58′) scored for Fürth’s equalizer. Dennis Srebeny saved the point late (81′).
What Stefan Leitl and Paul Seguin still want to achieve with Hertha BSC, they have already achieved with Greuther Fürth: promotion to the 1st Bundesliga. The Berliners backed up this claim against the Franconians, who were threatened with relegation, in the early stages. They controlled the game and were almost rewarded with the lead in the 9th minute. But after Michael Cuisance’s lob over Timo Schliek, Maximilian Dietz cleared on the line.
The Berliners repeatedly played long balls against the worst defense in the league. They wanted to keep the Fürth defenders busy and were betting that they would make their first mistakes at some point. That happened in the 26th minute when the hosts’ defense lost sight of Fabian Reese and, after a shot from Cuisance, flicked the ball over all the defenders to his captain.
Hertha double strike shocks Fürth
He controlled the ball on the left side of the penalty area and shot into the corner with his right, but the video referee quickly ended the party. Offside! Eichhorn had extended Cuisance’s ball with his shoulder. But Reese wouldn’t be Reese if he had just put up with it like that. A few minutes later he received the ball again from Cuisance, this time flat into his path. From an almost identical position, Reese shot again into the far corner, this time with the other foot. It was his first goal of the season from the game.
Now the unsettled hosts completely lost sight of the Hertha team. Just three minutes later, Cuisance found the completely free Schuler with a free kick, making it 2-0.
Hrgota brings the cloverleaf back into play
But the Fürth Offensive doesn’t have to hide from the Berliners. They have scored more goals this season than Hertha and league leaders Schalke. That’s why it was negligent of the Berliners to lose sight of Hrgota shortly before half-time. After a sharp cross from the right, the Fürth captain connected.
With their newfound self-confidence, the Kleeblatt played on equal terms after the break. The equalizer came again after a cross. Klaus took advantage of an excellent ball for Hrgota and the Fürth team celebrated.
Schuler ice cold – Fürth doesn’t give up
But their joy didn’t last long. Hertha’s quick response came in the middle of a period of pressure from the hosts. The ball came to Michal Karbownik via Marton Dardai and Reese. The striker accepted his pass to Schuler at the five-point corner before beating Schliek with a hard shot at the short corner from the turn.
But even this goal wasn’t enough to take away Fürth’s will to win. Coach Heiko Vogel’s team continued to play forward. Opportunities also arose, especially from the wing. Noel Futkeu missed a very good one in the 75th minute when he only reached a Dehm cross with the tip of his foot. Srbeny came into the game for him and that was the right decision. Only two and a half minutes after his substitution, the busy Hrgota initiated an attack, at the end of which Srbeny scored again to equalize.
Fürth immediately came back into the penalty area, but Tjark Ernst parried against Klaus.
Fürth in Düsseldorf, Hertha against Bielefeld
Fürth will be guests at Fortuna Düsseldorf on Saturday lunchtime (1 p.m.). Hertha welcomes Arminia Bielefeld on Friday evening (6.30 p.m.).