Hertha BSC has ended its series of bankruptcies away from home in the relegation battle of the Bundesliga and at least got a draw with the 1-1 (0-0) at SC Freiburg. The team coached by Sandro Schwarz scored their first point away from home since mid-September on Saturday in front of 34,700 spectators in Breisgau thanks to Jessic Ngankam’s equalizer (77th minute). Eight times in a row, Hertha lost away from home. Although the Berliners remain on the relegation rank, unlike their competitors VfB Stuttgart and FC Schalke 04, they still scored a point.
Vincenzo Grifo initially gave Freiburg the lead with a free kick (52′) and thus scored Baden’s 999th Bundesliga goal. In the end, the Breisgauer coach Christian Streich missed the hoped-for success for their ambitions for an international starting place before the two games against FC Bayern Munich. On Tuesday, Freiburg in Munich is all about getting into the DFB Cup semi-finals. Four days later, the Munich star ensemble will be guests in Freiburg for the Bundesliga duel.
The Berliners continue with a difficult home game against RB Leipzig. In Freiburg’s Europa-Park stadium, Hertha coach Schwarz had changed his starting eleven to six positions after the poor performance in the 1: 3 in Hoffenheim before the international break. In midfield, veteran Kevin-Prince Boateng was surprisingly on the pitch for the first time since the first matchday. “He was always an important part of the team,” Schwarz explained before kick-off at Sky. Boateng is able to “keep a clear head in difficult moments”.
SC Freiburg is struggling
The game initially took place mainly in midfield and only got a little lively in the middle of the first half. The guests from the capital had the best chance after about half an hour: Lucas Tousart crossed into the penalty area. Belgium international striker Dodi Lukebakio got a header, but it just went over the goal (32′).
Freiburg found it difficult to create chances. The hosts twice scored goals from set pieces: A Grifo free kick did not pose any problems for Hertha goalkeeper Oliver Christensen (26′). After a corner Lucas Höler got the ball (27th), but shot from close range too unplaced.
After the change of sides, Freiburg used their standard strength thanks to specialist Grifo: Boateng brought down midfielder Maximilian Eggestein. Grifo didn’t curl the ball over the wall, but just tapped it at first, had national player Christian Günter stop it and then hit the goalkeeper’s corner with Berlin’s legs.
On the other side, the Berliners quickly came close to equalizing. Lukebakio was saved by Dutch goalkeeper Mark Flekken (56′), and Höler cleared Tousart’s header off the line. Substituting Ngankam then paid off. The striker prevailed against Jonathan Schmid and let the Berliners celebrate the equalizer.
