It’s been another season of struggle for Hertha Berlin and with eight games left they still find themselves very much in the relegation fight. There is however a glimmer of hope with young striker Jessic Ngankam showing he is very much up for the fight and it could be his goals that ultimately rescue the capital club.
Hertha coach Sandro Schwarz has failed to find a regular source of goals from his striking set-up as he’s chopped and changed his forward line this season. The season start saw a front three of Dodi Lukebakio, Chidera Ejuke and Wilfried Kanga, but that didn’t hit the heights expected. Stevan Jovetic and Marco Richter have been tried while the winter transfer window saw the addition of Florian Niederlechner brought in from Augsburg.
Now after looking like he’s fully recovered from a long injury layoff, 22-year-old Ngankam is hitting form just when Hertha need goals the most. The Berlin-born striker has scored twice in his last three Bundesliga outings as well as scoring recently for the German U-21 side on his debut.
Kevin-Prince Boateng has praised the youngster saying, “The lad plays with freedom. He has the quality and now he’s showing efficiency. He’s scoring goals and showing the way. He is a strong player, but there is a lot more to come. We’re still not seeing the best Jessic.”
He came off the bench at the weekend to grab the equaliser against Freiburg and will be hoping that his recent goalscoring form will see coach Sandro Schwarz start him in the upcoming fixtures. His power, pace and finishing could be a decisive factor in Hertha’s survival chances and the added bonus of having a youngster raised from within the club’s youth system also helps.
