A good mood in training
Spirits were high at Schenckendorffplatz on Tuesday afternoon following Sunday’s win at FC Augsburg, not least when Myziane Maolida nutmegged Wilfried Kanga during the rondo to the delight of Dodi Lukébakio and Jean-Paul Boëtius. The Hertha players trained for the first time this week ahead of Saturday’s home game against Bayer Leverkusen at the OIympiastadion (10/9/22, 15:30 CEST).
The Hertha players were clearly relieved after earning the first win of the season, but still trained with focus. “We have played well over the past few weeks, however results help speed up your development. That’s why this win was extremely important for us. Our full focus is now on the next match,” explained head coach Sandro Schwarz.
Ngankam free of pain now
Schwarz was able to welcome Jessic Ngankam back to team training on Tuesday. The striker, who spent last season on loan at SpVgg Greuther Fürth, has finally recovered from his knee injury. “It felt good and I enjoyed being back out there with the lads. We laughed a lot and the mood was good, that makes a return a lot easier. The most important thing, of course, is that I’m free of pain,” said the 22-year-old. As well as Ngankam, 23 outfielders were in training (plus 3 goalkeepers), including Prince Boateng, who missed the trip to Augsburg due to muscular problems. New signing Agustín Rogel was also involved. Dongjun Lee, Kélian Nsona, Stevan Jovetić and Derry Scherhant worked individually, whilst Linus Gechter was still absent after having his tonsils removed.
Nutmegs and goals
The session lasted around 60 minutes with few breaks for the players. Following the warm-up and a passing drill, there was a rondo, which involved a number of nutmegs for the fans in attendance to enjoy. The session finished with 3v3s in small goals.
Schwarz’s team, on the back of that victory in Augsburg, will look to build on it ahead of the Leverkusen game. His side will train behind closed doors for the remainder of this week as they look to find the right balance between enjoyment and focus.