Not a coincidence

‘Is it fate?’, was the question on the lips of the Hertha fans present at training on Wednesday afternoon, with the weather taking a turn for the better after the first win of the year with the sunny shining, while training session in the last week took place under grey skies and accompanied by rain. It was no coincidence, however, that the mood among the squad was clearly much better. “It was an enormous weight off our shoulders that we finally won again. We were all really pleased and happy that we have finally turned a page,” said Florian Niederlechner, representative of the whole team.

Match play and finishing

The improved feeling around the club after the important home win against Borussia Mönchengladbach was there for all to see during the 90 minutes session on the training pitch. After a fitness session in the morning, the afternoon was taken up by a warm-up session followed by working on match situations in the final third. Schwarz and his trainer team put on a session that went down well with the players, with them playing on a small pitch with little contact and a focus on scoring goals. “Hunt together,” was the main instruction given out by the head coach, who supported the session with loud instructions.

Quartet in individual training

Kélian Nsona and Chidera Ejuke were absent from the session as they continue to work on their comebacks. Stevan Jovetić, Agustín Rogel and Peter Pekarík, on the other hand, were able to partake once again, albeit in a separate session with athletics coach Hendrik Vieth away from the rest of the squad. The rest of the players battled away for the full session, as did goalkeepers Oliver Christensen, Tjark Ernst, Robert Kwasigroch and Tim Goller. Florian Niederlechner’s comments after the training summarised the mood: “Everyone saw against Mönchengladbach that we are a team. It was a real fight and it can only function if we work together,” he explained.

Hertha will need more of this fighting spirit on Sunday as they take on Borussia Dortmund at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK (19th February, 17:30 CET). “We don’t need to beat around the bush. Dortmund are in a good place and they’ve found some form recently. It’s one of the toughest places to travel to but we will do everything we can to pick up the points,” said Niederlechner. In order to get a result against BVB, BSC will need to show the passion, dedication and team spirit that they showed last time out against Gladbach.