BERLIN: Hertha Berlin rescued a 1-1 draw at local rivals Union in the capital’s derby on Sunday but remain mired in a battle to avoid relegation with seven games left in the Bundesliga season.

The result helped Union stretch their unbeaten home run to 13 league games but they failed to close in on the European spots, staying seventh on 39, four behind Bayer Leverkusen.

Hertha are in 14th place on 25 from 27 games, two points above the drop zone.

Both teams hit the crossbar and scored in an exciting first half with Robert Andrich putting the hosts in front with a powerful shot from outside the box in the 10th minute.

Hertha levelled with Dodi Lukebakio’s 35th minute penalty but the pace dropped off sharply after the break with no chances for either side.

“We’ve achieved something — we’re doing well in the table, 14 points ahead of Hertha,” said Union sports director Oliver Ruhnert in a dig at their rivals.

This was only the fourth Berlin derby between the clubs in Germany’s top flight since Union’s promotion at the end of 2018/19.

“We didn’t play our best game today. Nevertheless, we held our own and then earned the point,” said Hertha captain Niklas Stark.

Union are joined on 39 points by VfB Stuttgart following their 1-0 win over Werder Bremen earlier on Sunday.

A late own-goal from Werder Bremen defender Ludwig Augustinsson was enough for Stuttgart to stretch their unbeaten run at home to six games.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2021