Ronny double earns Hertha a point at Freiburg
Freiburg - Two Ronny free-kicks earned Hertha Berlin a hard-fought 2-2 draw away to SC Freiburg in their Matchday 4 opener.
Freiburg dominant
The Brazilian helped the capital club come back twice at the Stadion an der Schwarzwaldstraße after goals from Marc-Oliver Kempf and Felix Klaus had given Freiburg the lead either side of half-time.
Freiburg settled into their rhythm quickly in the Friday night encounter, dominating possession against their deep-lying opponents, but clear-cut goalscoring chances proved extremely difficult to come by for Christian Streich’s men. It was Ronny who was presented with the game’s first chance at the other end of the pitch, but the 28-year-old fired just wide from long range.
Hoping to register their first win in the current campaign, Freiburg continued to put Jos Luhukay's side under pressure and were rewarded for their efforts with the half-hour mark approaching. It was UEFA Under-19 European champion Kempf who eventually broke the deadlock for Streich’s side, powerfully heading Jonathan Schmid’s right-wing cross into the back of the Berlin net.
Ronny’s rocket
It was the wake-up call Hertha needed. The visitors reacted well to that setback and began to look far more courageous on their rare forays forward. After Genki Haraguchi was brought down 25 yards from the Freiburg goal, Ronny gave Breisgauer keeper Roman Bürki no chance with a rocket of a free-kick to leave the teams level at the interval.
Kraft pulled off a fine save to deny Felix Klaus from close range just after the restart as the hosts started to regain control. Maximilian Philipp looked particularly dangerous, twice forcing the best out of Hertha custodian Thomas Kraft with decent efforts from inside the box.
Ronny to the rescue
There was little to suggest that a goal would come at either end with the hour-mark approaching, the stubborn visitors doing little to boost their hopes of a maiden win this season. Their rare counter-attacking efforts failed to pose a threat on the home goal, while Freiburg were also lacking ideas in the final third.
That all changed 11 minutes from time, however, when the hosts eventually saw their territorial dominance pay dividends. Karim Guede did well to retain possession and pass the ball to the lively Klaus, whose close-range finish left Kraft with no chance. Hertha weren’t going to give in though, and the Old Lady rescued a draw when Ronny’s stoppage-time free-kick deflected off the Freiburg wall and past a despairing Bürki.
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