Hertha Berlin match review
By: j | September 14th, 2008Wolfsburg’s 2-2 draw to Herlin Berlin is best summarized by manager Felix Magath’s comments post match:
“I don’t really know whether to be happy, satisfied or sad. It is always tough when you go behind away from home. In the end we could have taken the lead which would probably have been a little flattering. We should have scored three or four goals during the first half, so I view today’s game as two points dropped.”
Effectively he has it nailed down perfectly. It was an uneven match, where Wolfsburg lacked finishing and seemed to ignore the defensive promise of the off-season. While I was very hopeful of the Cristian Zaccardo – Andrea Barzagli combination in the back-line, it doesn’t appear that the club recognizes the importance of a solid defensive position. This is a very costly error and if you intend to truly make a run for a Champions League bid, this needs to be addressed.
Returning to the match, Wolfsburg got off to a great start, capitalizing on a Hertha Berlin defensive lapse with Ricardo Costa heading home a Zvjezdan Misimović corner barely a minute into the match. Pardon me for a minute, returning to my original commentary but sloppy defensive work is annoying and should have no role at this level. Gojko Kacar leveled the match twelve minutes after the break, off a set-piece by Patrick Ebert, a result again of poor marking. Patrick Ebert was the center of attention again as Christian Gentner dragged him down and the spot was pointed to. Serbian international Marko Pantelić was unable to convert but the Blue-Whites continued to pressure. Five minutes from time, an unmarked Cicero put the home squad ahead off a perfect cross by Ukraine’s Andriy Voronin. With the match winding down and Wolfsburg pouring forward Edin Džeko, delivered a perfect pass to Sascha Riether to bring the match to its final 2-2 conclusion.
Die Wölfe needs to start dealing with its various lapses, particularly in defending as this is no longer a club satisfied with “avoiding relegation.” With the UEFA Cup starting on Thursday against Rapid Bucureşti, this club needs to play more disciplined Football or they will find their European dreams end very quickly.
Match Details
Diego Benaglio, Andrea Barzagli,Ricardo Costa, Sascha Riether, Marcel Schäfer, Josué (Jonathan Santana 45′), Christian Gentner (Daniel Reiche 70′), Ashkan Dejagah (Edin Džeko 80′),Zvjezdan Misimović, Makoto Hasebe,Grafite
Category: Wolfsburg Team News
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