Hertha win cup tie marred by fan trouble; Schalke progress

HERTHA BERLIN eventually triumphed 2-0 in a German Cup tie away to third division Hansa Rostock yesterday in a game marred by crowd trouble.

Twice in the second half, straight after the restart and then again in the 76th minute, the match was halted as fans let off pyrotechnic devices. The second stoppage lasted some 15 minutes as fans burned opposing colours and parts of the Ostsee Stadium were seen on fire.

When play resumed Mitchell Weiser struck a stunning winning goal for Bundesliga Hertha and Vedad Ibisevic tapped in to decide the tie in favour of the capital club.

There were scenes that “no person in a football stadium wants,” Hertha sport director Michael Preetz told ARD.

Coach Pal Dardai added: “In my life I have never experienced such a thing,” while Rostock boss Pavel Dotchev said: “Unfortunately there are always black sheeps who destroy everything.”

Earlier new Schalke coach Domenico Tedesco enjoyed a successful debut as his side defeated BFC Dynamo 2-0 in Berlin.

Schalke dominated but needed 78 minutes to break the deadlock which came when Yevhen Konoplyanka got the better of his man on the edge of the box and finished smartly. Konoplyanka sealed the win with a second in the final minute.

A nondescript first half in Rostock was followed by immediate action in the second period as referee Robert Hartmann briefly halted proceedings until fireworks from the visiting fans died out.

Home keeper Janis Blaswich saved a spectacular effort from Salomon Kalou but shortly afterwards Hartmann again had to call the players off as Hansa ultras stormed the segregation gap between the fans to burn a Hertha flag.

The police seemed content not to further inflame the situation which saw large numbers of the home fans seem to turn against their own supporters group for the trouble.

Schalke laboured with the the majority of the possession in the first period but the fourth-tier hosts worked hard to match their Bundesliga opponents.

Early in the second period, Dynamo did call Schalke keeper Ralf Faehrmann into action but this offered only brief respite. At the other end Bernhard Hendl made a fine save from Leon Goretzka to maintain parity.

Finally the home resistance cracked when Goretzka fed Konoplyanka and the winger made no mistake. The Ukrainian added another late on and ensured his side progressed.

In other games, Nuremberg won 2-1 at Duisburg with Hanno Behrens and Georg Margreitter netting in the first half. Kevin Wolze’s penalty offered only consolation for the hosts.

And third-tier Paderborn upset second division St Pauli by the same score as Massih Wassey and Christopher Antwi-Adjej put the home side two goals to the good. St Pauli, with only Sami Allagui striking back, could not recover. – dpa