Hertha BSC won the first game of 2023. That wasn’t a big surprise. The opponent, Club de Lyon FC, is an American fourth division club from Orlando. The Berliners won 3-0 (2-0) at their training camp in Bradenton on Sunday afternoon (local time).
Myziane Maolida (from the penalty spot), Kevin-Prince Boateng and Jessic Ngankam (also from the penalty spot) scored the goals for the team coached by Sandro Schwarz, who are still preparing for the second half of the Bundesliga season in Florida for a week.
The duel with the semi-professionals from Club de Lyon was the first of two friendlies on Sunday at the IMG Academy. Later in the afternoon Hertha met Villages FC, also a fourth division team from the USA.
The encounter provided only limited information with a view to Hertha’s competitive game opener on Saturday in a week’s time at VfL Bochum. So Myziane Maolida, actually a player for the offensive flank, played as a center forward.
The Frenchman has never been really happy since moving to Berlin in the summer of 2021. In 16 Bundesliga games he scored just one goal for Hertha. This season he came only twice for use; he was last in the starting eleven on the first day of the game, in the derby defeat against 1. FC Union.
Against Club de Lyon, Maolida was involved in the first two goals. He made it 1-0 in the middle of the first half with a penalty kick. Earlier, Derry Scherhant had been brought down in the penalty area.
Maolida prepared the second goal. From the right he passed to Boateng, who had gone along with him, and who deliberately made it 2-0 from 15 meters. Jessic Ngankam, who came on for Boateng, took over the position of center forward after the break, Maolida moved up to ten.
Two 17-year-olds celebrate their debut
Hertha had more chances before the break, but without playing to their own superiority with the ultimate consequence. On the defensive, the team was rarely challenged. The semi-pros from Orlando had a good chance to head the ball from a corner. Hertha didn’t allow more in the first half.
After the break, coach Schwarz gave the youngsters the chance to present themselves. Two 17-year-olds celebrated their debut for the pros far from home. Tim Goller replaced Oliver Christensen in goal in the second half and actually had to intervene when the Americans tried to shoot. He was lucky just before the end when a header from close range went just wide of the goal.
Pascal Klemens, like Goller a German U-18 international, came on for Lukebakio after a good hour and played as a six alongside Lucas Tousart in defensive midfield. Immediately before that, Jessic Ngankam had scored a penalty kick, which he had taken himself, to make it 3-0 for the Berliners.
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