The Southern Dandy
Dec 11 2004, 08:19 PM
Hertha wins and goes 5th!
Hertha deservedly won the final Bundesliga match before the winter break and move (for the time being at least!) up to 5th place in the Bundesliga table. A spectacular second half goal by striker Nando Raphael did the trick in the round 17 clash in Hanover in front of 42,000 in the AWD Arena. It was Hertha’s 4th consecutive away win, a club record…
Proud Berliners!
Hertha travelled to Hanover with heads held high following their emphatic 6-0 home win over Gladbach in round 16. The capital city side was determined to carry on the good work started in the Olympic stadium in Berlin last time out. The game began with the home side putting the pressure on the visitors, with Hertha waiting for their chance to counter attack. Hanover came at Hertha but never really managed to create many clear cut chances.
Lala clears off the line
After 15 minutes the game began to liven up a little. It took however until the 36th minute for Hertha to endanger the Hanover goal, as Marcelinho could have scored with a header following a corner. Luckily for the Hanover coach Ewald Lienen, Altin Lala was on hand to clear off the line. Shortly afterwards, Hertha’s playmaker went close again, this time firing narrowly wide. On 42 minutes Billy Reina (who has just returned after a long injury lay-off) limped off the pitch holding his thigh. The game remained goalless at half time.
Drean strike by Nando
Both sides made a lively start to the second half and on 54 minutes, Hertha took the lead. Skipper Arne Freidrich passed to Nando Raphael, who took the ball on his chest, before turning and superbly finishing in one movement, firing into the boton corner leaving Robert Enke in the Hanover goal no chance whatsoever. It was a superb strike by the Angola-born striker. The goal settled Hertha down and they sat back and waited for the home side to come at them.
Late scare
Although big Joe Simunic was missing from the team in Hanover due to suspension, the Hertha defence stood solid and rarely gave the home side (which impressively won 2-0 away to HSV in round 16 last time out) a chance to score. In injury time at the end of the second half Per Mertesacker appeared to equalise for Hanover, only to see his goal disallowed by the referee because Christian fielder in the Hertha goal had been impeded. In the end the win was deserved and Hertha can now look forward to the second half of the season.
Match details:
Hanover: Enke - Cherundolo, Mertesacker, Zuraw, Tarnat (77. Wallner) - Lala, de Guzman - Krupnikovic - Schröter (65. Stajner), Stendel (69. Idrissou), Christiansen
Hertha: Fiedler - Friedrich, Madlung, van Burik, Fathi - Kovac - Reina (42. Marx), Bastürk, Gilberto - Marcelinho (90. Wichniarek) - Rafael (80. Bobic)
Referee: Stefan Trautmann (Florstadt)
Referee: 42,000
Goals: 0-1 Rafael (54.)
Yellow cards: Lala - Kovac
Hertha deservedly won the final Bundesliga match before the winter break and move (for the time being at least!) up to 5th place in the Bundesliga table. A spectacular second half goal by striker Nando Raphael did the trick in the round 17 clash in Hanover in front of 42,000 in the AWD Arena. It was Hertha’s 4th consecutive away win, a club record…
Proud Berliners!
Hertha travelled to Hanover with heads held high following their emphatic 6-0 home win over Gladbach in round 16. The capital city side was determined to carry on the good work started in the Olympic stadium in Berlin last time out. The game began with the home side putting the pressure on the visitors, with Hertha waiting for their chance to counter attack. Hanover came at Hertha but never really managed to create many clear cut chances.
Lala clears off the line
After 15 minutes the game began to liven up a little. It took however until the 36th minute for Hertha to endanger the Hanover goal, as Marcelinho could have scored with a header following a corner. Luckily for the Hanover coach Ewald Lienen, Altin Lala was on hand to clear off the line. Shortly afterwards, Hertha’s playmaker went close again, this time firing narrowly wide. On 42 minutes Billy Reina (who has just returned after a long injury lay-off) limped off the pitch holding his thigh. The game remained goalless at half time.
Drean strike by Nando
Both sides made a lively start to the second half and on 54 minutes, Hertha took the lead. Skipper Arne Freidrich passed to Nando Raphael, who took the ball on his chest, before turning and superbly finishing in one movement, firing into the boton corner leaving Robert Enke in the Hanover goal no chance whatsoever. It was a superb strike by the Angola-born striker. The goal settled Hertha down and they sat back and waited for the home side to come at them.
Late scare
Although big Joe Simunic was missing from the team in Hanover due to suspension, the Hertha defence stood solid and rarely gave the home side (which impressively won 2-0 away to HSV in round 16 last time out) a chance to score. In injury time at the end of the second half Per Mertesacker appeared to equalise for Hanover, only to see his goal disallowed by the referee because Christian fielder in the Hertha goal had been impeded. In the end the win was deserved and Hertha can now look forward to the second half of the season.
Match details:
Hanover: Enke - Cherundolo, Mertesacker, Zuraw, Tarnat (77. Wallner) - Lala, de Guzman - Krupnikovic - Schröter (65. Stajner), Stendel (69. Idrissou), Christiansen
Hertha: Fiedler - Friedrich, Madlung, van Burik, Fathi - Kovac - Reina (42. Marx), Bastürk, Gilberto - Marcelinho (90. Wichniarek) - Rafael (80. Bobic)
Referee: Stefan Trautmann (Florstadt)
Referee: 42,000
Goals: 0-1 Rafael (54.)
Yellow cards: Lala - Kovac