The memory of the first leg was anything but pleasant: a 1-2 loss and a long-term injury for Aylin Yaren. But things were set to go differently against Hertha BSC at the Stadion Lichterfelde.
First Half To Forget
Despite the sunshine, the freezing temperatures seemed to take their toll although not until the second half. The first 45 minutes were forgettable. Not a single clear chance for the sky blue team, just some misplaced passes and opportunities for Hertha, which forced Inga Buchholz into a great save early on (10th minute). FC Viktoria only posed a slight threat from set-pieces in front of the opposing goal.
Our young visitors, no player in their squad was older than 22, played with courage, defended well against the ball, and allowed little room for us. Through Lotte Reimold and Anouk Westphal, they created a few dangerous moments in front of Buchholz's goal but couldn't find the back of the net.
5 Goals In Half An Hour
At halftime, our coach Dennis Galleski brought on Leyila Aydin, returning from injury, and Anna Höfker. Höfker, in particular, brought much-needed calm to the defense, which looked more solid from that point on. However, no major improvement was seen in the attack. At first.
It wasn’t until after an hour of play that things started to shift: winger Louise Trapp found a moment of calm and space with the ball and sent a cheeky chip into Hertha’s net (61st minute). A breakthrough. Goalkeeper Buchholz pulled off another great save (70th minute), but from then on, the pressure was all on the visitors. Anouk Dekker headed in from a corner (75th minute), scoring her first goal of the season. And then it all happened fast. Two substitutes made their mark, each of them scoring their first goal of the season: Katja Friedl hit a long-range shot to make it 3-0 (78th minute), followed by Eunice Beckmann adding Viktoria’s fourth (83rd minute). This was Beckmann’s first goal for FC Viktoria in her first league match and second appearance overall.
The Birthday Girl Scores
With so many debut scorers, it was fitting that our top scorer and birthday girl, Kim Urbanek, put the finishing touch on the city derby. She scored her 14th goal of the season (86th minute) to seal a 5-0 win.
It was a brilliant second-leg performance against Hertha, witnessed by the participants of the first-ever Viki Girls Fest. The day was made even more special by the recognition of our coaches from the club’s girls' and women’s teams!
With that, our players wrapped up a very intense week—three home games in seven days, all of which they won. Huge congratulations! Now, they’ll get a week’s rest before facing Jena’s U20 team on May 5th. A week later, we’ll host the bottom-of-the-table Berolina Mitte at the Stadion Lichterfelde. Hopefully, under finally warm, summer-like temperatures, we’re looking forward to seeing you all there!
Line-up:
Buchholz – Ehegötz (46’ Aydin), Dekker, Sänger, Cazares – Stulin (46’ Höfker), Gerken (74’ Beckmann) – Sarr (74’ Friedl), Yaren, Trapp – Urbanek (89’ Casanovas).
Goals:
1-0 Trapp (61’)
2-0 Dekker (75’)
3-0 Friedl (78’)
4-0 Beckmann (83’)
5-0 Urbanek (86’)
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