Dost downs Hertha to extend Wolfsburg streak
Wolfsburg - VfL Wolfsburg extended their unbeaten home run to 25 games courtesy of a hard-fought 2-0 victory against Hertha Berlin.
Man of the match
Vfl Wolfsburg 2-0 Hertha Berlin
1-0, 2-0 Dost (77', 88')
Buoyed by their successful return to the UEFA Champions League against PFC CSKA Moskva in midweek, the home side started confidently, dominating both pace and possession against their visitors from the capital. Nicklas Bendtner missed the hosts’ first clear-cut opportunity, firing high from ten yards out before Naldo headed just wide from a Daniel Caligiuri cross. Hertha weren’t without chances of their own, however, with Diego Benaglio denying Genki Haraguchi with a smart save.
Wolfsburg upped the pressure after interval in an effort to break the visitors’ resistance, with Julian Draxler seeing a powerful header denied brilliantly by half-time substitute Rune Jarstein in the Berliners’ goal. It was second-half substitute Bas Dost who eventually broke the deadlock for Dieter Hecking’s charges, the Dutch hitman slotting in Daniel Caligiuri’s pass before converting a spot-kick to seal the three points two minutes from time.
Second-half substitute Dost made all the difference just as both sides appeared to be settling for a draw. Dost netted his first 13 minutes from time with only his second touch of the game, before converting from the spot eleven minutes later.
Talking point
Despite their involvement in European competition in midweek and being made to work by Hertha, last season’s runners-up again showed that they are a side to be reckoned with this season, holding their nerve and eventually breaking down a stubborn opposition.
Match stats
- Wolfsburg are now unbeaten in 25 home matches.
- Dost’s penalty against Hertha was his first ever spot-kick in the Bundesliga.
- Bendtner made his first league start since 26 April, a 1-0 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach.
- Hertha went into the match as the only Bundesliga club not to have conceded a penalty this calendar year
Line-ups:
Horn - Olkowski, Sörensen, Heintz, Hector - Lehmann, Vogt (Jojic 46’) - Risse, Bittencourt (Gerhardt 77’) - Modeste, Osako (Zoller 88’)
Sommer - Jantschke, Brouwers, Christensen, Wendt - Dahoud (Hrgota 76’), Xhaka - Traore , Raffael (N. Schulz 70’), Hazard (Hahn 70’) - Drmic
