Hertha concede late equaliser against Hannover
Pál Dárdai made four changes to his starting XI after last week’s defeat at Karlsruhe - Michał Karbownik, Márton Dárdai and Marten Winkler were all absent from the matchday squad, while Aymen Barkok dropped to the bench. Deyovaisio Zeefuik, Andreas Bouchalakis and Ibrahim Maza all started, as did Toni Leistner, who regained the captain’s armband in the heart of the defence.
Kempf heads Hertha in front as Hannover hit the woodwork
Hertha had the first chance of the game as Haris Tabaković, aiming to make 2. Bundesliga history by scoring for the sixth consecutive league game, flashed a header wide from a Fabian Reese cross (4’). The capital club would find the net before too long, though, as Marc Kempf soared above the opposition defenders to head in Palkó Dárdai's corner (13’).
The visitors piled on the pressure for the rest of the half, as Lars Gindorf – making just his second league start for Hannover – rattled the crossbar on 20 minutes. There was a sense of dejà vu 20 minutes later when Louis Schaub’s effort also hit the bar, but Hertha held onto their lead at half-time.
Hannover score late on
Hannover head coach Stefan Leitl made two substitutions at the start of the second half in an attempt to add to his side’s attacking impetus. If anything, however, those changes had the opposite effect, and clear-cut chances were at a premium for some time, despite further alterations from both sides.
Tjark Ernst was called into action on 73 minutes to deny Enzo Leopold, but by and large it appeared as if Hertha would maintain their lead and get the three points necessary to keep their hopes of finishing third alive. But it was not to be for the Old Lady, who conceded a stoppage-time equaliser courtesy of a Leopold header. Hertha will next be in action on 5th May, as they visit Elversberg for a 13:30 (CEST) kick-off.
Speaking to herthabsc.com after the game, skipper Toni Leistner had this to say about the draw: "It annoys me a lot because it sums up the whole season - we've given away leads on so many occasions. We just didn't keep our concentration enough at the end. We had better luck going forward in the first half. We played well out from the back throughout, but ran out of steam in the final third. Our main takeaway for the coming season is that we need to improve a lot in defence."
Hertha BSC: Ernst – Kenny, Kempf, Leistner (C), Zeefuik – Bouchalakis, Klemens (Hussein 64‘) – P. Dárdai (Niederlechner 82‘), Maza (Scherhant 72‘), Reese – Tabaković
Hannover 96: Zieler (C) – Neumann, Halstenberg, Arrey-Mbi – Muroya, Kunze (Christiansen 46‘), Leopold, Dehm (Ezeh 46‘) –Tresoldi (Teuchert 67‘), Schaub (Voglsammer 67‘), Gindorf (S. Ernst 81‘)
Goals: 1-0 Kempf (13‘), 1-1 Leopold (90+3‘)
Referee: Timo Gerach
Yellow cards: Ezeh
Attendance: 59,192