Gechter shock overshadows Fortuna victory in Berlin

Overshadowed by a potentially serious injury to Berlin junior international Linus Gechter, Fortuna Düsseldorf quickly regained top spot in the 2nd Bundesliga. The Rhinelanders achieved a lucky 2-0 (1-0) victory at Hertha BSC on matchday 5 and moved back into first place, just ahead of Karlsruher SC.

Dawid Kownacki (13th minute) and Jona Niemiec (66th minute) scored the goals for the clever guests in front of 50,135 spectators at the Olympic Stadium. Despite many chances, Hertha missed out on a possible third league win in the series and stagnated in the middle of the table after their second defeat of the season.

Worry about Gechter was greater than anger over missing out on points. The collision between the young Berliner and his teammate Deyovaisio Zeefuik seemed seemingly unspectacular at first. But the spectators had a keen sense of what was going on. It was quiet in the Olympic Stadium as the treatment continued on the grass and then behind a screen on the track.

According to Hertha sports director Benjamin Weber and licensed game manager Andreas “Zecke” Neuendorf, Gechter injured his left shoulder and collarbone. He was taken to hospital. However, an exact and official diagnosis is still pending. Initially, it was feared that he might also have sustained an injury to his neck or throat due to the length and type of treatment.

Kownacki had previously taken advantage of Hertha’s long poor record in defensive set pieces. He leapt between Marton Dardai and Zeefuik to score the lead after a free kick cross. Hertha had to regroup. Derry Scherhant (27′) was stopped by Florian Kastenmeier in the Düsseldorf goal.

After Gechter’s injury, the Berlin team tried to equalize with a power play, especially in the quick ten minutes of extra time – but to no avail. Berlin also had chances in the second half through Luca Schuler (54th), Leistner (65th) and Maza (76th). However, Düsseldorf scored the second goal – again after a free kick cross.