Late Leverkusen goal denies Hertha Berlin in Bundesliga

Sun, Nov 7, 2021
Soccer News (AP)

BERLIN (AP) - Robert Andrich scored in the final minute to earn Bayer Leverkusen a 1-1 draw at Hertha Berlin on Sunday, denying the home team what looked like its fifth Bundesliga win of the season.

Hertha's players slumped on the field after Andrich's last-gasp equalizer, chipped over the goalkeeper after they failed to clear a free kick and after they had failed to make more of several good counterattacking opportunities.

Andrich previously played for Hertha's city rival Union Berlin and was sent off on his previous appearance at Olympiastadion in the derby.

Leverkusen's winless streak in the league stretched to four games since the 5-1 loss at home to Bayern Munich on Oct. 17, but Gerardo Seoane's side is hard-hit by injuries. Florian Wirtz was the latest to drop out after Thursday's 4-0 win over Real Betis in the Europa League.

Seoane brought on two 16-year-olds against Hertha. Spanish forward Iker Bravo became the second-youngest player to appear in the Bundesliga - after Borussia Dortmund's Youssoufa Moukoko - when he came on in the 79th, only to become the third-youngest when Danish midfielder Zidan Sertdemir came on in the 86th. Sertdemir is 16 years and 276 days old, 22 days younger than Bravo. Moukoko was 16 and a day when he made his league debut.

Leverkusen 'keeper Lukas Hradecky did well to stop Suat Serdar in the 24th, before Andrich had a goal ruled out at the other end because Amine Adli had taken the ball out of play.

Neither side threatened much thereafter until Steven Jovetic drilled a shot inside the top left corner three minutes before the break for Hertha. The Montenegro forward did well to control the ball with his right foot before scoring on the turn with his left.

Hertha's Alexander Schwolow was the busier goalkeeper after the break, twice denying Karem Demirbay.

Schwolow couldn't do anything to improve his own forwards' ability to make more of several promising counterattacks at the other end, however, and Hertha was to rue the missed chances when Andrich scored.

Andrich's former team Union Berlin was playing in Cologne later, before last-place Greuther Furth hosted Eintracht Frankfurt.

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Ciaran Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfaheyAP