A goal by Dutch midfielder Ludovit Reis at the start of the second half brought historic Hamburg closer to the long-awaited promotion to the Bundesliga after beating Hertha Berlin 0-1 in the first leg of the playoff.
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Neither the poster of the scapegoat with which the tie started, given its status as a Second Division team, nor the almost 75,000 spectators that filled the Olympic stadium in Berlin, intimidated a Hamburg, which was superior.
Only in the first stages of the duel did Tim Walter’s men seem somewhat intimidated, which allowed Hertha Berlin, who finished third from last in the Bundesliga, to star in the occasional dangerous arrival, although without really approaching the goal.
Hamburg top
Quite the opposite of Hamburg, who at 32 minutes had a great opportunity in the boots of striker Robert Glatzel that forced the local goalkeeper, the Danish Oliver Christensen, to show off in a shot that seemed to hit the hand of a defender beforehand .
But the referee, after reviewing the images, not only did not point out the maximum penalty, but also sanctioned an alleged previous hand of a Hamburg player at the beginning of the action.
An opportunity that seemed to make the visitors definitely believe that eight minutes later, in the 40th minute, they once again brought fear to the stands of the Olímpico with a Glatzel header that crashed into the side of the net.
disallowed goal
If Robert Glatzel, Hamburg’s top scorer with 22 goals, failed to put the ball in the goal, the one who did manage it in the 44th minute was Hertha’s Algerian attacker Ishak Belfodil, but the North African’s goal did not get on the scoreboard , after pointing out the referee’s illegal position.
A decision in which the local team seemed to remain anchored throughout the second half, which despite the departure of a player of the stature of Montenegrin Stevan Jovetic, was completely overtaken by Hamburg in the second forty-five minutes.
king decides
Superiority that the visitors managed to transfer to the scoreboard in the 57th minute with a goal from the Dutch Ludovit Reis, who surprised the Hertha goalkeeper with a center from the left wing that little by little was poisoned until it became a goal (0-1).
Something that ended up sinking a Hertha Berlin, which never seemed to have a chance to equalize the contest, quite the opposite of Hamburg, which had the occasional occasion to sentence the contest.
But the second visitor goal did not come, which allowed Hertha to arrive with options to avoid relegation to the second leg that will be played next Monday at the Volksparkstadion, where Hamburg, a true European champion, will try to certify their return to the top flight of German football four years later.
