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Hertha cheers, in the form of Fredrik Björkan
Photo:
ANNEGRET HILSE / REUTERS
Scene of the game:
A good 70 minutes were played and Hertha striker Ishak Belfodil only dragged himself across the pitch.
Beaten, drained, he should have been replaced long ago.
Nevertheless, he was sent off again with a long pass and once again he ran into the penalty area with the ball on his foot, passed again across and occupied the HSV defense one last time.
Next to him, Marvin Plattenhardt limped across the pitch.
Hold on until you can't anymore - a whole new Hertha feeling.
The Berliners on the gums, and yet they bit through.
Result of the game:
Hertha BSC was devastated after the 0-1 in the first leg and still jumped the Teufel relegation off the shovel: Hertha won 2-0 with goals from Dedryck Boyata (4th minute) and Marvin Plattenhardt ( 63 minutes).
Hamburger SV failed again to get promoted, it was never as close as this time.
Here is the detailed match report.
The first half:
coach
Felix Magath actually fielded the oldest Hertha starting eleven in 15 years, with Kevin-Prince Boateng and Santiago Ascacíbar in midfield, both of whom missed the first leg.
But the guest line-up wasn't just different in terms of personnel: Hertha were already leading 1-0 after four minutes and thus had about as many chances to score as in the entire first leg.
Boyata headed in a Plattenhardt corner, HSV was already impressed and remained so until the break.
The second half:
HSV came out of the break with power, at Hertha the steps of the more mature men were now slower.
But there was still Plattenhardt, the standards specialist.
After a good hour of play, he tipped a free kick from the right into the far corner, HSV goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes, one of the best in his field in the second division, was duped.
It was the first free-kick in relegation since 2015 – since HSV saved themselves again in the Bundesliga against Karlsruher SC with a goal by Marcelo Diaz.
Player of the match:
Kevin Prince Boateng played for Hertha for the first time in the Bundesliga against HSV on December 10, 2005. His team-mates were Niko Kovač, Arne Friedrich and Marcelinho.
Almost 17 years later, Boateng is still there, a relic.
"At some point he will become a factor," said Hertha sports director Fredi Bobic when he signed the old friend from Frankfurt days before the season.
Boateng took his time until the last game to make that happen.
In the final minutes he threw himself into the balls as if he were playing for Atlético Madrid.
This is one of the few clubs in Europe that does not appear in his footballer biography.
The relegation expert:
"Abolish relegation", that's what fans like to demand, and there are enough arguments for it.
Jonas Meffert should wholeheartedly support this petition.
The professional took part in the relegation three times with three clubs: in 2015 lost with Karlsruher SC against HSV, in 2021 with Holstein Kiel against 1. FC Köln, in 2022 with HSV against Hertha.
Maybe he should just let it go.
The rescuer:
Felix Magath's reputation had cracked in the past few weeks, the old magic of the veteran coach, all the little psychological tricks he's so good at, none of that seemed to work anymore.
The fact that he was the only one who exuded unwavering optimism before the game seemed a bit ridiculous in the midst of Berlin's dreariness.
And now he stood motionless on the sidelines for 90 minutes and watched everything turn out exactly as he had predicted.
After the final whistle, he disappeared without moving a face, like an emperor leaving the commander's hill, in the direction of the dressing room and let the players celebrate.
He has to live up to his reputation even in such a situation.
Felix Magath, the unfathomable.
To the day 13 years ago he became champion with VfL Wolfsburg.
Story source Felix Magath.
Mission accomplished.
Magath leaves Berlin with his own cryptic smile: "I'll go home and chop wood."
The unfortunate:
Everything seemed different this year.
Don't stumble just before the end, but on the contrary: get going just before the end.
HSV had recently achieved six victories under coach Tim Walter.
All in vain.
HSV now knows what it's like to fail as a second division team in relegation.
Destiny week:
The "kicker" had previously proclaimed "the most important Hertha week in over a decade": For the Berliners, this once again memorable season is still not over.
The media are already reporting the alleged impending resignation of Werner Gegenbauer, the President, who has been at the helm of Hertha for exactly 14 years to this day.
The general meeting is on Sunday, and Gegenbauer, who is not only the investor Lars Windhorst as the one who has the main responsibility for the misery of the club, probably wants to pre-empt votes.
After all, staying up in the league is by no means quiet at Hertha BSC.
There's still so much to clean up.
Findings of the game:
Berlin keeps two Bundesliga teams, Hamburg keeps two second division teams.
That's how it is.