Koln 1 : 2 Hertha BSC Berlin - Hertha ease relegation fears

Posted Sunday, November 23, 2014 by PA

Hertha Berlin moved above Borussia Dortmund and away from the bottom three of the Bundesliga thanks to a 2-1 win over Cologne at the Mungersdorferstadion.

Roy Beerens gave Jos Luhukay's visitors the lead in the first half, but Cologne scored a deserved equaliser through Anthony Ujah in the second half.

A deflected free-kick from Marcel Ndjeng late on then earned the Old Lady all three points, though, to take them away from immediate relegation danger.

Hertha coach Jos Luhukay sprung a surprise in his starting XI by leaving top scorer Salomon Kalou on the bench, preferring Julian Schieber to lead his line.

He did not get much chance to make an impression early on, though, as Cologne kept the visitors as far away from their goal as possible, maintaining possession and creating a few chances.

They wasted their best opportunity in the 17th minute, though, when Ujah and Pawel Olkowski failed to make the most of a two-against-one situation.

Beerens showed them how it should be done to give Hertha the lead with their first chance of the game in the 28th minute.

The Dutchman managed to shake off several attempts to tackle him before releasing a shot which took a slight deflection and went in off the inside of the left-hand post.

It took the Goats a while to recover from the shock of conceding when it seemed they had the game fully under control, but after a half-time team talk they came out for the second half the way they had started the first.

This time they were rewarded with Ujah bringing them level just short of the hour mark.

Yuya Osako sent the ball long and Ujah raced clear, holding his nerve with only Thomas Kraft to beat.

Peter Niemeyer almost restored Hertha's lead with his first touch after coming on as a replacement for Valentin Stocker, but Timo Horn managed to tip his effort over.

Ujah could have put Cologne in front but hit the crossbar as the game opened up. After the earlier tactical exchanges, both sides suddenly seemed more willing to take a gamble.

One of Hertha's paid off with Ndjeng's free-kick taking a wicked deflection off Ujah to catch Horn out and give the visitors the lead once again with only four minutes remaining.

Luhukay's men were able to hold on to their advantage this time to pick up three precious points which move them away from the bottom three.