Borussia Dortmund 1 - 1 Hertha BSC Berlin: Aubameyang rescues point for Dortmund to deny Hertha

Posted Saturday, October 15, 2016 by PA

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had a penalty saved before grabbing a late equaliser in Borussia Dortmund's 1-1 draw with Hertha Berlin as both teams finished with 10 men.

Valentin Stocker put Hertha ahead early in the second half and the hosts suffered another setback when Aubameyang was denied from the spot in the 77th minute.

But he found the net three minutes later and in a dramatic finish Dortmund's Emre Mor saw red in the 84th minute before Stocker was dismissed at the death.

The draw left second-placed Hertha one point ahead of their opponents in third and two adrift of leaders Bayern Munich, who have a game in hand.

Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel was forced to improvise with his starting XI due to injuries, and he fielded the third youngest side ever to start a Bundesliga fixture, with an average age of under 23.

Mikel Merino was among them, deputising for the injured Sokratis Papastathopoulos, while 19-year-old Mor and 18-year-olds Felix Passlack and Christian Pulisic also started, with Dortmund missing Raphael Guerreiro, Lukasz Piszczek and Gonzalo Castro.

As a result the hosts took time to settle and Hertha enjoyed the better of the first half, with Marvin Plattenhardt going the closest to breaking the deadlock with a shot blazed over the crossbar from just outside the area.

Hertha took the lead five minutes into the second half when Vedad Ibisevic's backheel sent Stocker through on goal and the Swiss midfielder kept his cool to place his shot past his compatriot Roman Burki.

Tuchel sent on Ousmane Dembele and, although originally left out due to an injury, he looked fit and sharp and breathed new life into Dortmund.

Mor was the provider of Dortmund's first big chance of the game when his cross was met by Aubameyang at the near post, but he could not divert his shot home.

The Gabon forward was then sent clean through on Rune Jarstein's goal, but the goalkeeper lifted his left hand instinctively to touch his attempted lob on to his left-hand post.

Dortmund's growing pressure paid off 15 minutes from time when Shinji Kagawa's shot struck the left arm of Genki Haraguchi and the referee pointed to the spot.

Aubameyang stepped up, but his effort was saved by Jarstein, who guessed right in diving to his left.

It did not look like it would be Aubameyang's night, but he could not miss his next chance as he slid in to meet Dembele's low cross in front of an open goal at the far post.

Dortmund had the momentum on their side, but they were stopped in their tracks when Mor was shown a straight red card after pushing his opponent to the ground after earning a free-kick just outside the area.

The referee struggled to keep a lid on the game in the final minutes and another red card followed, this time to Stocker for a dangerous tackle from behind on Matthias Ginter.