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Hertha Berlin logo
Pre-season Friendlies
Jul 22, 2015 at 5pm UK
 
Fulham logo

2-2

Darida (5'), Hegeler (14' pen.)
FT(HT: 2-1)
Taggart (31'), Woodrow (71')

Live Commentary: Hertha Berlin 2-2 Fulham - as it happened

Follow Sports Mole's live coverage of the pre-season friendly between Fulham and Hertha Berlin in Austria.
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Fulham came from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw with Hertha Berlin in a pre-season friendly in Austria.

New signing Vladimir Darida put the German side ahead before a penalty from Jens Hegeler doubled their advantage with less than 15 minutes gone.

Adam Taggart got the Championship side back into the match before half time, before a long-range effort from Cauley Woodrow levelled the scores late on.

Read how all the action unfolded below.


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Good afternoon! Fulham will be hoping to continue their unbeaten pre-season run when they take on German side Hertha Berlin at a neutral ground in Austria in around half an hour's time. Let's start with a look at the team news.

HERTHA BERLIN STARTING XI: Kraft, Pekarik, Skjelbred, Darida, Hegeler, Stocker, Langkamp, Plattenhardt, Haraguchi, Beerens, Lustenberger

FULHAM STARTING XI: Bettinelli, Grimmer, Bodurov, Burgess, Voser, Cole, Tunnicliffe, Hyndman, Kacaniklic, Taggart, Woodrow

So, Kit Symons has rotated his squad for the start of their Austrian tour, resting newcomers Jazz Richards and Tom Cairney, who both scored in their last match. It's an attacking lineup for the Championship side though, with Cauley Woodrow partnering Adam Taggart up front, while winger Alexander Kacaniklic will also be a threat from midfield.

Hertha Berlin hand a start to one of their new summer signings, with Vladimir Darida included in the first XI. The Czech international joined the Bundesliga side from SC Freiburg on a four-year deal.

One player who is still missing for Fulham is club captain Scott Parker. The 34-year-old hasn't traveled with the rest of the squad for the Austria camp after failing to recover from an ankle injury in time, with manager Kit Symons admitting that the midfielder is likely to miss the start of the season.

Here's the Fulham squad arriving in a sunny Schladming a little earlier:

Here come the Whites! #WhitesOnTour

A video posted by Fulham Football Club (@fulhamfc) on



Fulham will be playing two matches while in Austria. After this fixture, they move on to Irdning, where they will take on Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. After that, they have just one more fixture against Crystal Palace before beginning the Championship season with a trip to Cardiff City.

Like Fulham, Hertha Berlin also have two more pre-season friendlies remaining before the start of the Bundesliga season. They made a strong start to their summer fixtures, scoring 19 goals in their first three wins, but a draw and a loss against tougher opposition mya have dented their confidence ahead of this fixture. Hertha travel to FC Augsburg in the opening week of the German league season.

PREDICTION! The players should be heading out shortly, so let's make a quick prediction. Hertha Berlin have named a strong side, while Fulham are missing a few of their key players. Pre-season friendlies are always tricky to predict because of the inevitable mass changes throughout the match, but I think the German side will just have the edge tonight, so I'm going for a 2-1 Hertha win.

The referee leads the players out of the tunnel ready for kickoff. The ground is only a couple of years old, and doesn't have huge stands, but there's a reasonable crowd there to see the two visiting teams in action.

KICKOFF! Fulham get the match underway!

Hertha are dominating the possession in the opening couple of minutes, passing the ball around the back before Skjulbred launches a long ball forward to Roy Beerens, but he's unable to control the ball before letting it go behind for a goal kick.

Fulham go on the attack for the first time, with Kalacaniklic sending a through-ball forward for Adam Taggart, but Thomas Kraft is quickly off his line to gather the ball for Hertha before the Australian striker can get a shot away.

GOAL! Hertha Berlin 1-0 Fulham (Vladimir Darida)

Well, it hasn't taken the Bundesliga side long to make the break through, and it's a brilliant run down the left from Marvin Plattenhardt that created the opening, with the winger charging forward from the half-way line before finding Darida with a low cross, and the new signing calmly took a touch before drilling it into the bottom corner. It's an excellent finish from the Czech international.

Despite looking clinical on the attack, Hertha look like they could be a bit shaky at the back as Woodrow closes in on an underhit back pass from Skjelbred, leaving Kraft rushing off his line to gather the ball. Stocker and Hegeler quickly put Fulham on the backfoot again though with another pacy move down the left.

Kacaniklic and Woodrow try to work the ball through midfield for the English club, but the latter tangles with Beerens, handing the German side the ball in a dangerous position, but they fail to make the most of it.

PENALTY TO HERTHA!

GOAL! Hertha Berlin 2-0 Fulham (Jens Hegeler PEN.)

What a fantastic start Hertha Berlin have had to this match! They force a corner as Darida sees his cross deflected behind. However, as Marvin Plattenhardt crosses it back in Burgess is penalised for a shove on Jens Hegeler, leaving the midfielder with a spot kick. Bettinelli dives the right way, but he can't get a hand to it to keep it out.

Fulham are showing a little more urgency as they try to recover from a poor opening quarter of an hour. Hertha have only created two chances of note so far, but they've both ended up in the back of the net. The Championship side are showing plenty of intent going forward, but haven't created too much to trouble Thomas Kraft in the Berlin goal so far.

Hertha are piling forward again after playing the ball out from the back, but Stocker loses the ball near the corner flag, giving Fulham a throw in, which allows them to clear the danger.

Stocker is involved again as the German side continue to look the more likely, but he drifts into an offside position as Plattenhardt plays the ball forward to him.

There's an injury concern for the Bundesliga side as Per Skjelbred is on the receiving end of a rather heavy challenge from Burgess, leaving him clutching his leg in pain, but he manages to limp off. He's obviously still feeling the tackle, but it looks like he'll be alright.

A dangerous move from Fulham has the German side racing to get numbers back, with Kacaniklic attempting to cross the ball in towards Taggart and Woodrow, but there are several defenders in the way, and they get the ball clear.

CHANCE! Hertha almost make it three as Plattenhardt delivers the ball into the penalty area again, leaving Hegeler with an opportunity to extend the lead, but his effort is blocked.

GOAL! Hertha Berlin 2-1 Fulham (Adam Taggart)

Fulham have got a goal back! They force their first corner of the match as Cauley Woodrow tries to head into the bottom corner, but Kraft tips it around the post. From the resulting set piece, Tunniclifee and Burgess are both involved as it's headed around the six-yard box, but it's Taggart who gets the final touch, nodding in from a rebound after Kraft had denied Burgess.

CHANCE! All of a sudden, Thomas Kraft is a very busy man in the Hertha Berlin goal as Fulham force a free kick around 35 yards out. Cauley Woodrow lines it up, but his curling effort is comfortably held by the keeper. It really needed a touch from one of his teammates to make it a challenge for the German side.

Fulham have certainly been buoyed by their goal, and they press again, with Kacaniklic and Woodrow swarming on the edge of the box, but Lustenberger manages to get the ball back to Kraft.

CHANCE! Hertha Berlin come close to restoring their two-goal cushion thanks to a brilliant solo move from Genki Haraguchi. The midfielder wins the ball back from Fulham in midfield, and bursts down the left before cutting inside and driving the ball towards the Fulham goal from the edge of the block, but it drifts just wide of the left post.

Pekarik gets forward as Hertha push for a third before half time, and a lovely backheel from the defender almost sets up Darida, but the scorer of the first goal can't quite control it. The Hertha coach is shouting for simple football from the bench though.

Larnell Cole has been relatively quiet in the first half, but he gets forward as Fulham look for the equaliser just before the break, but he's crowded out around 25 yards out, preventing him getting the ball through to Woodrow, who was ahead of him in space.

HALF TIME: Hertha Berlin 2-1 Fulham

So, Fulham let in two goals inside the opening quarter of an hour, but an Adam Taggart header has got the Cottagers back into the match at half time. Hertha still look dangerous though, so the next goal could be crucial.

The only really contentious moment in the first half was the penalty decision, which resulted in Hertha Berlin's second goal. Cameron Burgess can't have too many complaints though, as he clearly collided with Jens Hegeler.

Here's Vladimir Darida celebrating his first goal for Hertha Berlin following his move to he side from Freiburg earlier in the summer:


Both sides have plenty of players on the bench, so their could be a host of changes early in the second half. Among the options for Fulham are Tom Cairney and Jazz Richards, who were both on the scoresheet last time out.

RESTART! Hertha Berlin get the second half underway!

Hertha are on the attack early on as Haraguchi uses his pace to sprint down the left before looking to cross in towards Hegeler, but his delivery is blocked before it reaches its target.

The start of the second half has mirrored the beginning of the opening 45 minutes, with the German side dominating the possession and bearing down on Fulham's box, but they haven't tested the keeper yet.

SUB! Hertha are the first to make a change, with Florian Kohls coming on for Jens Hegeler, who scored from the penalty spot in the first half.

Alexander Kacaniklic is left floored as he gets sandwiched between Skjelbred and Langkamp, but he's soon back on his feet. Fulham have a free kick though, and Woodrow launches it deep, forcing a corner for the Championship side.

The corner is whipped in towards the penalty spot by Voser, but Thomas Kraft rises highest in the box, taking a one-handed catch to make sure that Fulham didn't score from the set piece. The English side's first-half goal came from a corner, so it was a dangerous situation for the Bundesliga club.

Beerens sprints past Voser down the right flank, but the midfielder quickly recovers to take the ball back from the Hertha man. He gets the ball away to Cole, but the youngster is tripped before he reaches the half-way line while looking to create something on the counter for Fulham.

Hertha are soon on a fresh charge as Stocker and Haraguchi link up through the middle, with the latter lining up a shot from the edge of the box, but his path is blocked. That allows Kacaniklic to quickly get involved down the other end, but Kraft is ready to gather his corner.

Beerens has been looking sharp since the restart for the German side, and he's on the move again with another pacy burst down the right, but there's no-one in the box to meet his dangerous-looking cross, leaving Bettinelli with an easy punch clear.

Kay Voser has really been coming under pressure at the back for Fulham as Hertha have been pressing for their third goal of the match. Kit Symons is shouting instructions at the Swiss defender, but their opponents are still finding ways to get past him.

SUB! Fulham make a triple change, and it's a move that should give them more fire power as Moussa Dembele, Ben Pringle and Lasse Vigen Christense replace Taggart, Hyndman and Cole.

CHANCE! Bettinelli makes a solid save as Beerens goes on the attack out wide again. This time he keeps the ball for himself, bringing it in to the edge of the box before trying to fire in low, but the keeper makes a diving stop.

Voger continues to struggle as Langkamp cheekily plays the ball through the defender's legs as he looks for Beerens. Fulham really haven't created much since the start of the second period. If either side is going to find a fourth goal in this match, it looks like it's going to be Hertha.

GOAL! Hertha Berlin 2-2 Fulham (Cauley Woodrow)

Erm, what was that I was saying about Fulham not creating anything in the second half?! Cauley Woodrow finds himself with the ball around 25 yards out, but he has no-one in front of him. The striker has plenty of time and space, so tees up the ball himself, rifling the ball past a stunned Kraft to level the scores.

Fulham have the momentum now as Christensen tries to get a cross in from the right wing, but is brought down by Skjelbred, giving the English side a free kick, but Stocker is back to ensure that the German side get the ball out quickly.

Fulham have so much more confidence and pace going forward now than they have for much of the second half, with Christensen collecting a lon ball forward on the wing before looking for Pringle on the edge of the box. However, the midfielder took too long to get his shot away, leaving Hertha with an easy clearance.

Hertha win a throw in level with the edge of the Fulham box, but there's a steep grass bank close to the pitch, and Langkamp ends up climbing up part of it to get enough space for his long run up. He launches the ball deep, but Stocker can only knock it behind for a goal kick.

Hertha force a corner as Bodurov is forced to turn the ball behind. The delivery has too much on it, but Langkamp gets a flailing arm in the face as Christensen tries to help make the clearance, leaving the midfielder needing a couple of minutes of attention from the team's physio. He looks a little shaken up, but he should be alright to continue.

Kit Symons shouts for his side to "dig deep" as they head into the final five minutes. It's Hertha who are on the attack though, with Stocker getting into position under a high ball forward from Mittelstadt, but it's Fulham who win the ball back.

Dembele plays a good ball forward to Woodrow, who turns towards goal from 20 yards out, but finds himself facing a packed penalty area. He plays it out wide towards Pringle, but the move breaks down.

Christensen is involved again as Fulham press for a late winner. He fires the ball forward towards Woodrow, but Hertha still have numbers back, and Pekarik makes the block. Symons is being really vocal at the moment, shouting at his players to "recycle".

Woodrow and Lustenberger collide midair, but the referee isn't happy that the Fulham man had an arm on his opponent's shoulder, so awards the free kick. It's too far out for the German side to go for goal though, and Fulham end up pushing them back into their own half.

FULL TIME: Hertha Berlin 2-2 Fulham

Florian Kohls takes a last-gasp run at the Fulham goal, but as Bettinelli comes off his line to claim the ball, the referee blows the full-time whistle, ensuring that the sides share a draw.

There are plenty of positive for both sides. Hertha were clinical with their finishing in the first half, scoring with their first two efforts on target. Meanwhile, Fulham showed plenty of resilience to fight back after falling two goals down inside the opening quarter of an hour.

So, that's all from this match, but if you want to follow more pre-season action, check out our fixtures page to follow score updates from this evening's games. Thanks for joining me this evening. Goodbye.

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Moussa Dembele of Fulham during the Barclays Premier League match between Fulham and Everton at Craven Cottage on March 30, 2014
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