Coach Sandro Schwarz clenched his hand into a fist full of relief, a few meters away goal scorer Dodi Lukebakio sent a quick prayer to the sky. In the snow of the Olympic Stadium, Hertha BSC withstood the enormous pressure in the intense cellar duel with FC Augsburg and won 40:522 (2:0) in front of 0,0 spectators in Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

"Everyone marches for the other, we are a great bunch. It's really fun at the moment," Hertha striker Florian Niederlechner, who came from Augsburg in the winter, told Sky: "The last few days were not so easy for me."

The former Augsburger Marco Richter (61st) and the substitute Lukebakio (69th) shot Hertha to their second success in the past three games. The Augsburgers, who still cannot win away from home in 2023 and instead lost four times in foreign places, now have only four points ahead of the Berliners and must orient themselves downwards for the time being. "That was not a good game from either side, there were hardly any chances," said Augsburg captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw: "Actually, it was a 0-0 game."

Niederlechner against the old club

Goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz, who looked bad at the first goal, was annoyed. "The ball flies without rotation, maybe I have to hold it, I don't know," he said: "Just scoring at home might be tight."

Hertha's coach Schwarz had to send Agustin Rogel on the field for Marton Dardai shortly before the start, he otherwise trusted the starting eleven, which had also started in the 1:4 in Dortmund last Sunday. Thus, winter newcomer Florian Niederlechner ran against his old club. For this, the Berliners have to transfer a certain sum to the Swabians.

Not always handsome

"I got the green light at the beginning of the week, so it wasn't a big issue for us. That's why Florian is on the pitch right from the start," Schwarz told Sky before kick-off. Augsburg coach Enrico Maaßen made two changes compared to the 1-0 win against Hoffenheim. Iago and Niklas Dorsch replaced the injured Felix Uduokhai and Elvis Rexhbecaj.

The initial phase had a certain pace from both teams – Niederlechner had a chance after just a few seconds. But the majority of the not always respectable first half took place between the penalty areas, as inaccurate passes destroyed possible chances from the outset.

Only in standard situations was the ball closer than 16 meters to the respective goalkeeper, but even these scenes were scarce in the first part of the game. By chance, Jessic Ngankam finished shortly before the change of sides at the corner of the penalty area, but his tight shot went over the goal of former Union keeper Rafal Gikiewicz.

In the snowfall that began in the second half, the hosts tried to gain more shares of the game, while the guests initially limited themselves to counter-attacking. The improved commitment of the Berliners was rewarded by the leadership. A free kick from captain Marvin Plattenhardt was shot by former Berlin Arne Maier in the middle of the penalty area to the waiting judge, who scored from 25 meters into the right corner. The 25-year-old had already scored in the first leg in a 2-0 away win and scored his first goal after his testicular cancer.

Eight minutes after the lead, a free kick was again the starting point for the second goal. Rogel throttled the ball from his own half to the Augsburg penalty area, where Lukebakio, who had come at half-time, circled the ball past Gikiewicz and scored the second goal.