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Matchday 25: Hoffenheim dupes Hertha and gives Matarazzo their first win

Matchday 25: Hoffenheim dupes Hertha and gives Matarazzo their first win

Hoffenheim ends a five-month winless streak and sets the long-missed exclamation point in the relegation battle. With two penalties, Kramaric provides early security against a harmless Hertha.

In the 15th attempt, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim won again in the Bundesliga and took their new coach Pellegrino Matarazzo out of the criticism, at least for the time being.

The Kraichgauer prevailed in the duel of the relegation candidates against Hertha BSC 3-1 (2-0). They left the last place in the table and jumped to 15th place. For the Berliners, the situation after the 25th matchday is once again more than precarious: the capital club slipped to the relegation place and offered a disappointing performance.

In front of 25,027 spectators, the last despised World Cup striker Andrej Kramaric first by hand (24th minute) and then by penalty kick (37th) and Ihlas Bebou (51st) with their goals for the first victory in Matarazzo’s tenure after five defeats . TSG last won 3-0 at Schalke 04 on October 14th. At the same time it was the first threesome this year.

Hoffenheim striker Munas Dabbur pulled off the feat of seeing the red card just two minutes after being substituted on. He had kicked substitute Dodi Lukebakio in the calf from behind (71st). Stevan Jovetic scored the 1:3 in the second minute of added time.

Hertha conceded the tenth away bankruptcy this season. A few days after the presentation of the new investor 777 Partner, who brings 100 million euros with him, staying in the class is still in the balance. In keeping with the precarious situation at both clubs, the children came before kick-off from the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis youth fire brigade and wore red helmets.

Matarazzo was able to rely on defender Kevin Vogt, who was injured last, and on playmaker Christoph Baumgartner after serving a yellow card suspension. The Croatian Kramaric, who was not allowed to play a minute in the defeat in Freiburg, was also in the starting XI this time – and right away in the spotlight. The 31-year-old put Pavel Kaderabek in a promising shooting position after just a few minutes. The Czech maneuvered the ball past the goal. Kramaric himself missed a long and precise ball from Vogt when he shot the strong Hertha goalkeeper Oliver Christensen.

Shortly thereafter, Tolga Cigerci had both arms up in a dogfight, and ex-Herthan player John Brooks’ header jumped onto his hand. Kramaric converted the due penalty with a chip in the middle of the goal to make it 1-0. When Filip Uremovic then knocked out TSG attacker Ihlas Bebou, referee Frank Willenborg called for another penalty. This time, Kramaric sank the leather in the right corner.

Although Berlin’s coach Sandro Schwarz was absent in preparation due to a gastrointestinal infection, he was on the sidelines at the Sinsheimer Stadion. The 44-year-old had to do without Marc Oliver Kempf (hip injury) and Marton Dardai (muscular problems) for a short time. His team barely got into any offensive action throughout the first half.

Shortly after the restart, Hertha demanded a penalty kick: Robert Skov was handed the ball after a header from Lukebakio. Willenborg only gave a corner. Bebou then duped the Berlin defense and marked the 3:0 with a low shot. Even after that, Hertha gave the fans who were traveling with them no reason to hope that there was still anything to be gained that day, even if Jovetic reduced the deficit to 1:3. The Hoffenheim fans sang enthusiastically: “TSG, TSG is back.”

Source: Stern

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