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Dardai gives Jarstein a pass, notes Hertha's second half was "not okay"

By Peter Vice

Hertha head-coach Pal Dardai declared himself prepared to give keeper Rune Jarstein the benefit of the doubt for what his veteran backstop claimed was "a gust of wind".

Regarding the rest of his team's performance, the newly reinstalled trainer appeared a bit more worried than usual. 

Naturally, the first questions directed at Pal Dardai following his team's 0-2 loss to Dortmund concerned the sensational gaffe of his veteran goalkeeper.

"I don't know how many km/h the shot was traveling," Dardai reported, "Juli has already said that there was a 'gust of wind'. That's very difficult for a goalkeeper. He saved our asses in the first half and many times before that. I don't know how the ball got in there and I don't care. Rune is a super goalkeeper. No criticism of him."

Asked about the squad's overall performance, the 44-year-old claimed the team had played well enough during the first half. The second 45 was a different story. Dardai explicitly called it unacceptable.

"I'm a bit worried because we didn't even dig out a corner or get a free kick," he noted, "The guys have the talent for it, but they just didn't show it today, I say the players blockade themselves, which is not good. They have to play freely. And that's why I'm not satisfied with the second half. It wasn't okay."

The Hungarian head-coach noted that he would have to take a look at his own directives and training regimen.

"Perhaps I'll have to look to myself first to identify the mistakes," he conceded, "That's painful and I'm, accordingly, a little disappointed."


Asked about the Mainz win over Freiburg earlier in the day, Dardai acknowledged that the result made matters much more difficult for his team.

"Of course, they [Mainz] are now breathing down our necks," he remarked wryly, "We have that in our heads and a relegation battle takes place in the head. We'll have to find the right mixture of tension and calm in the coming weeks."