Germany: Bundesliga
FT
2 - 4
(0 - 2)
Hertha BSC
Bremen
J. Ngankam (68), D. Lukebakio (79)
M. Ducksch (6), M. Ducksch (27), M. Ducksch (51), M. Weiser (63)
By Peter Weis@PeterVicey

Ducksch dedicates hat-trick to travelling Werder support

At the age of 29, Marvin Ducksch has his first ever Bundesliga hat-trick. The lower league veteran, often overshadowed by striking partner Niclas Füllkrug this season, dedicated his historic milestone to the SV Werder Bremen traveling support on Saturday. 
It surprisingly proved a case of "no Niclas Füllkrug, no problem" for SV Werder Bremen at the Olympiastadion on Saturday afternoon. Though Füllkrug was able to complete squad training on Friday, the German national team striker remained on the bench when SV trainer Ole Werner set his team up to face Hertha BSC. For the second consecutive match, Maximilian Philipp started alongside Marvin Ducksch.

Last week, it was Philipp's turn to contribute a goal. Philipp might have liked to add another against the team he very nearly signed for during the recent January transfer window, but it was definitely Ducksch's turn to shine this time around. Ducksch recorded his first ever Bundesliga hat trick, courtesy of assists from three different SV players.

Ducksch credited Jens Stage, Christian Groß, and Anthony Jung for helping him find the back of the net. The 29-year-old nevertheless wanted to make mention of how important it was that some 20,000 visiting fans found their way through the Olympiastadion turnstiles on Saturday afternoon. That, according to the Dortmund-native, made a huge difference.

"I heard in the run-up [to the match] that we'd have some support in the stadium," Ducksch told his Sky interviewer afterwards, "and that we could make this a home game."

"Support in the stands always helps us on the pitch," he continued, "I tried to get everyone on board during the goal celebrations. You could see what was going on."

Ducksch didn't have much else to say other than beam at a "very special" and "brilliant day". The veteran actually broke off his interview early so as to "go celebrate together with the fans". Head-coach Werner also credited the supporters for helping the team snap a long winless run.

"At some times, almost only our fans could be heard," Werner told Sky, "Very, very good performance of the team, very good performance of the whole club and a very good performance of our fans."

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