BERLIN: Hertha Berlin held on to pick up a valuable point with a 1-1 draw at home against Hoffenheim on Sunday.
The hosts went behind early, with Andrej Kramaric pouncing on a deflected shot to score in the 27th minute in his 200th appearance for the club.
Hertha struck back in the 37th minute thanks to a defensive mistake from Hoffenheim wingback and former Manchester City player Angelinho.
Receiving a throw in his own half, the Spaniard unleashed a reckless cross towards his own goal, which was collected by Chidera Ejuke who set up Dodi Lukebakio for his third of the season.
In the dying stages, Hoffenheim upped the pressure on the home side’s goal, Christoph Baumgartner dragged the ball wide in the 76th minute and Robert Skov scored in the 87th minute but the goal was ruled out for offside. A deflated Hoffenheim captain Oliver Baumann accused his side of "inviting Hertha very much to equalise".
"The goal was scored quickly at the end, but it came from our own throw in - that must not happen to us."
Hertha sporting director Fredi Bobic said his side could take a lot of positives from the draw.
"We have a lot of potential and we are nowhere near exploiting that potential," Bobic told DAZN. The result comes after a period of upheaval in what has already been a turbulent season for the Berliners.