Wehen Wiesbaden inflicted an unpleasant defeat on Hertha BSC. It was Berlin’s first defeat after eleven games. The Hessians won 3:1 (1:0) on Saturday (January 27, 2024). It was Wiesbaden’s second success against Berlin this season.
Franko Kovačević gave Wehen Wiesbaden the lead with a brace (24th, 53rd), Thijmen Goppel sealed the hosts’ victory (72nd). In the meantime, Jonjoe Kenny had shortened the score for Pal Dardai’s team (59′). With the defeat, Hertha BSC completely lost contact with the top for the time being, Wiesbaden put a lot of distance between themselves and the relegation zone with the three points. Despite these clearly different assessments of the game, there is now only one point between the clubs in the table.
Dominant Berliners at the beginning
Hertha started dominantly, but did not pose any threat to score. A deflected long-range shot from Robin Heußer brought Wiesbaden into the game. Kovačević was then there when Berlin goalkeeper Ernst turned away another attempt from Heußer. As a result, Markus Kauczinski’s team could have increased twice more, but Aymane Barkok missed Berlin’s only significant opportunity.
Kovačević with a good nose for goal
Kovačević once again demonstrated a good nose for goal when he directed a direct pass from Bjarke Jacobsen into the Berlin goal. When Jonjoe Kenny scored the impressive goal, hope began to emerge for Berlin. But when Nick Bätzner saw the line out against advanced Herthaners and played perfectly into Goppel’s path, the Dutchman kept his nerve and pushed flat past Ernst into the goal for the final score.
Wiesbaden in Karlsruhe, Hertha welcomes HSV
On the next match day, Wehen Wiesbaden will play in Karlsruhe on Friday (02/02/24, 6:30 p.m.), Hertha will host Hamburger SV in the duel between the former first division teams on Saturday evening (02/03/24).