Fan protests against the DFL’s planned investor deal almost provoked the cancellation of the second division game Hertha BSC against Hamburg on Saturday evening (February 3, 2024). HSV scored points in terms of sport.
The sporty side in Hamburg’s 2-1 (0-0) victory with goals from Miro Muheim (57th minute) and Ludovit Reis (82nd) as well as Berlin’s Haris Tabakovic (62nd) almost became a minor matter. This second division game will go down in history because of the protest by Berlin supporters against the DFL’s investor plans, which resulted in a 32-minute interruption of the game. Seven minutes had been played in the second round when the Berlin fans kept throwing tennis balls onto the field. In the meantime, referee Daniel Schlager consulted the two coaches Pal Dardei and Tim Walter. The stadium announcer tried to calm the Hertha supporters: “Your message has arrived.” Without success. Then Dardei tried to talk to the supporters in the east curve, also without results.
Finally, after 20 minutes, the referee sent the teams off the field. Only after an interruption of more than half an hour did the score continue at 0-0. If tennis balls had flown onto the grass again afterwards, the referee would have stopped the game.
To the live ticker: Hertha – Hamburg arrow right 20th matchday arrow right
Both teams had to cope with hardships – Hertha also had to cope with the sudden death of their president Kay Bernstein and, in sporting terms, the 3-1 defeat in the DFB Cup quarter-finals against Kaiserslautern, and HSV had to deal with the 3-4 home defeat against Karlsruher SC in the league. Things started in Berlin with a slight delay because clouds of smoke blocked the view of the pitch.
Monster double chance for HSV
The Hamburg team got into the game better. In the first minute, Bakery Jatta was cleared on the right in the box, but he didn’t put enough pressure behind his shot; Berlin goalkeeper Tjark Ernst kept the ball safe. After several set pieces, HSV had a monster double chance to take the lead in the 17th minute. First, András Németh headed the ball onto the crossbar from close range following a cross from Immanuël Pherai, and László Bénes’ follow-up shot was cleared by Florian Niederlechner off the line.
There was a first short interruption in the 26th minute because Hamburg fans threw tennis balls onto the court. Line judge Sven Waschitzki-Günther (31st) also needs a new flag. After the small irregularities, the Hanseatic League continued to have the upper hand in the game, which was characterized by set pieces, and the unimaginative Berliners couldn’t do anything offensively.
Tabakovic hits the post
Hertha almost used their first real good chance to take the lead. After Niederlechner’s cross, Haris Tabakovic (42′) headed the ball from ten meters onto the right post; Hamburg goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes would have been powerless. On the other side, Németh shot just wide of the right post following a corner. HSV was clearly the better team in the first half. Weak point: He couldn’t convert the superiority into something countable.
HSV more effective after interruption
Hamburger SV also started the second half as the more active team. As the Berliners prepared to become more offensive, the tennis ball protest from their own fans began. When football could be played again a good half hour later, HSV scored once with a long-range shot from Muheim from 18 meters – Hertha’s goalkeeper Ernst looked unhappy. Five minutes later, Tabakovic scored Berlin’s equalizer after a long-range shot from substitute Fabian Reese.
Both teams continued to play forward and look for a finish. HSV made this more effective. After a cross from Pherai, Reis, who had recently been substituted, headed HSV to victory eight minutes before the end of regular time, which moved them back up to second place in the table. Hertha is languishing in midfield. However, the interruption of the game will certainly cause more discussion, which raises the question of how far the fan protests against the DFL can go.
Hertha in Fürth, HSV against Hannover
Hertha continues on Carnival Sunday (February 11, 2024, 1:30 p.m.) at SpVgg Greuther Fürth. Hamburg already faces Hannover 96 two days earlier at 6:30 p.m.