Ebnoutalib propels Elversberg to away victory – SVE win 2:0 in Olympiastadion
SV Elversberg have made their mark once again in the 2. Bundesliga. On Friday evening, manager Vincent Wagner’s team secured a well-earned 2:0 (1:0) defeat of Hertha BSC in Berlin’s Olympiastadion, celebrating their third win in four games so far this season. The match winner was Younes Ebnoutalib, who scored twice on his first appearance in the starting eleven clad in the SVE jersey, dismantling the Berlin defence almost single-handedly.
It was an evening that will not easily be forgotten by the nearly 1,000 Elversberg fans who made the trip. The away supporters were already celebrating just a few minutes in: in the fifth minute of play, Lukas Petkov blocked an inaccurate clearing shot from Márton Dárdai on the right flank and the ball ended up at Ebnoutalib’s feet. The striker, who replaced injured Luca Schnellbacher in the starting eleven, did not let this opportunity go to waste. He determinedly broke away, shook off his counterpart Dárdai and outplayed Hertha’s keeper Tjark Ernst with a powerful, tight-angle shot – 1:0 for Elversberg and Ebnoutalib’s first goal in the SVE jersey.
‘It’s indescribable, words fail me’, the double goal scorer later said in a Sportschau interview.
It all went so quickly, putting the score at 1:0 just five minutes in – I absolutely could not believe it. I was just lucky. We all fought for everything and really wanted to win.
This early goal gave Wagner’s eleven huge security. Whilst Hertha – who had already been suffering mixed season so far – struggled to find a way to counter Saarland’s pressing, SVE boldly pushed forward. More ball possession, more pace, more determination – Elversberg dictated the match in the Olympiastadion.
One particularly spectacular moment was Maximilian Rohr’s attempt in the 24th minute. He took a brave shot from nearly 50 metres out and only narrowly missed the Berlin goal. Things nearly came together once again shortly after, when Lasse Günther fired a shot following a lovely pass from Petkov and hit the crossbar (32nd minute). The teams headed into the break with an opportunity ratio of 10:2 in Elversberg’s favour – a figure that might even have been kind to the Berlin team.
After the change of ends, Hertha’s manager Stefan Leitl tried to respond with some adjustments. He brought on fresh blood, switched to a four-man backfield and deployed more on the wings. The Berlin team were briefly more active, but failed to pose any genuine threat. Fabian Reese and winter new addition Grönning managed some minor breakthroughs, but the SVE defensive ranks with Rohr and Gyamerah remained solid.
The decisive moment then came in the 59th minute – from Ebnoutalib once again. After capturing the ball in the midfield, Elversberg began some rapid passing. The ball made its way through Condé, Zimmerschied and Conté to Petkov, who took an overview and passed it into the centre. Ebnoutalib was in just the right place and coolly fired the ball home – 2:0 to the away team. However, after the game Wagner felt that SVE could have made things even easier: ‘We could be developing our play much better in those moments by the box. Given that, 1:0 by half time was actually not a high enough score, just like last week. And in the second half, we passed the ball directly to our opponents twice. It was clear to me that we would either score a second goal or concede an equaliser. Fortunately we made it 2:0.’ And fortune was with Younes Ebnoutalib: ‘Schnelly was out, Younes was the only striker left – so he had to deliver’, manager Vincent Wagner later said.
He has worked hard on his own play and we have worked hard with him. During the week, I told our squad planner not to be surprised by how well Younes would play at the weekend. It was just a matter of time before it clicked. These two goals were just the beginning.
Hertha, on the other hand, failed to regain a foothold in the match after that. And when central defender Linus Gechter received a red card from a second yellow in the 77th minute following repeated fouls, the match was as good as over. Elversberg did not miss a step and could even have increased the score in the final stages, but substituted player Freddy Schmahl was halted by Ernst (85th minute).
For Wagner, his team’s performance confirmed that they were on the right track: ‘This is not just about me, but also the fact that they are really good lads who have a very strong foundation. Normally, when you join a club as a new manager, things are not going so well. But Horst did fantastic work here, and we want to maintain that, and also incorporate our own ideas with a respectful approach as a new coaching team. Three weeks ago against Ulm, things were feeling more harmonious, but there was no pride yet. The lads still have plenty to give and there are a few things we haven’t quite worked out yet, even if that sounds a bit odd right now.’
Berlin, on the other hand, were left feeling frustrated and helpless. ‘We never managed to establish a foothold in the match. Things that worked very well a few days ago in Darmstadt just didn’t happen at all today’, Hertha’s manager Leitl said in disappointment. Sports director Benjamin Weber described a ‘weak performance with and against the ball’ and encouraged: ‘Work, work, work’. Captain Fabian Reese put things even more clearly: ‘That was just not enough from anyone. We all need to ask ourselves if we are willing to give our all for the team.’
Whilst Hertha are heading into the international break without a win and are already feeling under pressure early in the season, Elversberg are looking ahead to the coming weeks brimming with confidence. Nine points after four matches and an impressively mature performance against a self-proclaimed favourite for promotion – SVE have finally established themselves as a second-division heavyweight.
Things continue for Elversberg on 14 September with a home game against Dynamo Dresden. The fans can look forward to their next floodlit excitement on Kaiserlinde – and perhaps to the return of double scorer Younes Ebnoutalib.
But one thing is already certain – the two teams will be meeting each other earlier than planned: as luck would have it, SVE will be back in Berlin’s Olympiastadion in late October to face Hertha once again in the second round of the DB Cup.