2. Bundesliga: Clinical Hertha end winless run with impressive victory over Elversberg

Hertha Berlin produced a near-perfect away display to sweep aside Elversberg 3-0 at the URSAPHARM-Arena this afternoon.

Stefan Leitl’s game plan was executed to perfection, as goals from Pascal Klemens, Luca Schuler and Toni Leistner sealed a memorable victory and ended Hertha’s long wait for a league win.

Elversberg dominated the early exchanges, enjoying close to 70% possession in the opening 20 minutes as they attempted to probe for an opening. Hertha, however, remained compact and disciplined, though they were forced into an early change when Deyovaisio Zeefuik was withdrawn through injury.

Despite Elversberg’s control, it was the visitors who struck first just before half-time. Paul Seguin’s inswinging corner caused chaos in the home box, with no white shirt able to clear their lines, allowing Pascal Klemens to rise highest and nod Hertha into a 1-0 lead against the run of play.

Hertha emerged with greater intent after the interval and almost doubled their advantage within minutes, Fabian Reese denied only by a heroic Florian Le Joncour goal-line block from point-blank range. The second goal did arrive just before the hour mark, however, as Reese’s clever work on the counter opened space for Luca Schuler, who kept his composure to slot past Nicolas Kristof and make it 2-0.

Elversberg continued to push but lacked cutting edge in the final third. Le Joncour came closest to pulling one back, his header from Tom Zimmerschied’s free-kick crashing against the post. Any remaining hope was extinguished 12 minutes from time when Toni Leistner pounced on a headed clearance from a corner and unleashed a thunderous strike from the edge of the area to put the result beyond doubt.

The win ends Hertha’s run of five consecutive draws and marks their first league victory since November, lifting Leitl’s side up to sixth place. For Elversberg, it was a stark contrast to last week’s performance in Kaiserslautern, as they slip to third following Paderborn’s victory.