Hertha BSC loses at the start of the season at Fortuna Düsseldorf in 2nd Bundesliga

Three homegrown talents and three newcomers in the starting XI

Coach Pal Dardai started the first game of the new season with three new players, three homegrown players and a classic 4-4-2 system. While Toni Leistner, Jeremy Dudziak and Fabian Reese celebrated their competitive debuts for Hertha, Dardai also put his trust in the young Pascal Klemens (18) and Marten Winkler (20). They all experienced a somewhat disorganized game at first, in which both teams felt each other out rather than attacked. Deyovaisio Zeefuik provided the first and for a long time the only goal of the game in the eighth minute, when he put the ball on his right side past the opponent in the middle and shot from just outside the penalty area – but without success.

Palko Dardai celebrates his Hertha debut after returning

All in all, the guests from Berlin left Fortuna in control of the game at first, but always maintained their security defensively. Against a compact Hertha defense, Düsseldorf found it difficult to create promising chances. Offensively, Dardai’s team – especially on the wings of Reese and Zeefuik – repeatedly showed good and creative approaches, but without creating any really compelling chances. After half an hour, Reese put Florian Niederlechner in the limelight, but his shot was blocked without any problems (30th minute). Shortly before, another player, Palko Dardai, had made his debut for Hertha after his return. He had replaced Winkler, who had previously injured himself, but was unable to change anything from the 0-0 score up to the half-time break.

Hertha home-grown Winkler is treated before being substituted. | Image: IMAGO/Beautiful Sports

In the second half, Hertha was quickly caught off guard: Starting from a throw-in, the ball landed on the right-hand side of Düsseldorf’s Matthias Zimmermann, who hit a good cross into the six-yard box. Daniel Ginczek was there, ready to head the ball into the far corner to make it 0-1 from Hertha’s perspective (51′). However, the guests then reacted well, continued to show themselves to be strong and energetic and had a double chance with long-range shots from Marco Richter and Marton Dardai (56th). Around ten minutes later, Zeefuik, who was already strong, took the ball defensively and initiated a good counterattack, but Reese was denied by Düsseldorf keeper Florian Kastenmeier.

All three Dardai brothers on the pitch at the same time

Overall, the game became more intense and also more physical. Hertha now invested a little more in terms of running and playing, but Düsseldorf held up well. Pal Dardai reacted again and first brought Derry Scherhant for Niederlechner, then shortly afterwards his son Bence Dardai for Klemens. From the 78th minute, three brothers, the Dardais, were on the pitch at the same time while their father Pal directed from the sidelines – a first in German Bundesliga football. In the final minutes, the Berliners then mobilized their strength again. Defensively, Zeefuik again prevented a Düsseldorf counterattack with a lot of effort (90th), but offensively the Berliners were no longer able to equalize the game. Also because a free kick by Marco Richter in added time remained fruitless.

The game in the live ticker

Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, July 29, 2023, 8:30 p.m