Kevin-Prince Boateng strikes as Frankfurt come from behind to beat Hertha
Kevin-Prince Boateng scored against his former club as Eintracht Frankfurt came from behind to beat Hertha Berlin 2-1 in the capital
Hertha Berlin 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Goals: 1-0 Selke (15'), 1-1 Wolf (26'). 1-2 Boateng (80')
Vedad Ibisevic got into a shooting position after just 50 seconds, with the side-netting rippling as Lukas Hradecky's foot diverted his effort. His strike-partner Davie Selke was more accurate after a quarter of an hour to thread his shot through Hradecky's legs and give Hertha a lead which had been in the air. The same could not really have been said of Marius Wolf's equaliser ten minutes later, though, but he left no room for doubt as he blasted the ball into the roof of the net. The goal knocked the stuffing out of Hertha temporarily and added feathers to the Eagles' wings, which were clipped again only by the half-time whistle.
As a light snow continued to fall over the German capital, both sides started to get a little hot under the collar with a combative start to the second half. It looked like the game might need something special to resolve it, and Boateng provided it, curling a pinpoint effort into the top left-hand corner without a moment's hesitation as the ball fell kindly for him just inside the Hertha penalty area. The Berlin-born forward immediately raised his hands by means of apology to the Hertha fans, but he had left them cold with a goal which lifted Frankfurt level on points with Borussia Dortmund and Augsburg.
Match stats
- Selke scored his first Bundesliga goal for Hertha at the Olympiastadion, having netted a brace there in the Europa League this season.Wolf's goal was his first away from home for Frankfurt.Ibisevic's 108 Bundesliga goals were far more than the 75 scored by the entire Eintracht Frankfurt matchday squad.Frankfurt’s 15 points away from home is the best of any side in the Bundesliga this season (Bayern have 13, having played one game less).This is Eintracht’s best start away from home since 2010/11 when they picked up 13 points from their first seven games on the road. However, they only gained two more points in the remaining 10 away matches and were relegated.Hertha have scored more Bundesliga goals against Eintracht (105) than against any other side.Frankfurt registered their first win in seven games against Hertha (W1, D4, L2).Dardai lost for the first time as a coach against Eintracht (W2, D3, L1).
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Line-ups
Hertha Berlin: Jarstein – Mittelstädt (Lazaro 62'), Langkamp, Rekik, Plattenhardt – Maier (Lustenberger 62'), Skjelbred - Weiser, Leckie - Selke, Ibisevic (c) (Esswein 82')
Subs: Kraft, Pekarik, Kalou, Torunarigha
Absentees: Langkamp (hip), Darida (knee), Stocker (knee)
Coach: Pal Dardai
Eintracht Frankfurt: Hradecky - Salcedo, Abraham (c), Falette – Gacinovic (Barkok 46'), Wolf, Hasebe, Boateng, Willems - Haller (Jovic 90+1'), Rebic (Tawatha 88')
Subs: Zimmermann, Fernandes, Jovic, Russ, Hrgota
Absentees: Chandler (knee), Russ (Achilles), Fabian (back), De Guzman (shoulder), Mascarell (Achilles), Meier (ankle)
Coach: Niko Kovac
Watch: Boateng reflects on the "worst game" of his career