Hertha draw with Freiburg

Two trademark Ronny free-kicks salvaged a second point of the season for Hertha Berlin with a 2-2 draw at Freiburg.

The two sides had time to breathe in midweek with the attention on European action, but the table didn't read well for either - one point from three games. This was an opportunity for each to give their season a kick-start.

Freiburg made a decent start going forward - even while still nursing the absence of Swiss international, and the club's top scorer last season, Admir Mehmedi.

He was replaced in the side by Maximilian Philipp - the 20-year-old striker making his presence felt around the pitch - particularly against US national side player John Anthony Brooks. But without Mehmedi, there was a lack of precision and poise up top, as the team was forced into a reshuffle from last week against Borussia Dortmund.

Vladimir Darida operated in a more conservative role in the middle-third, while Karim Guede and Jonathan Schmid were still struggling to unearth a fine run of form. Chances from set-piece seemed to be the predictable route to goal in a tame first half an hour.

Indeed, the goal to break the deadlock came on 29 minutes from Schmid's corner-kick, with teenage defender Marc-Oliver Kempf towering above the static figure of Julian Schieber, then heading below Thomas Kraft to score his first league goal for the club.

When the initiative was thrown in the direction of the Berliners, they responded almost immediately. In the 35th minute, Brazilian attacking-midfielder Ronny executed a stunning, left-footed free-kick, which kept Roman Bürki rooted to the spot.

The sides fell into a small lull after the break with Ivorian and former Chelsea forward Salomon Kalou entering the scene to make his league debut for Hertha. He, himself, was fairly ineffective, as he looked to operate as the main forward, in place of Schieber.

Streich's side had a taste of goal midway through the half through Mehmedi's replacement, Philipp. The striker forced a terrific, one-handed save by Kraft with a rifled shot from 20 yards out, but he was soon replaced.

In the 79th minute, however, Freiburg found the lucky key to the door. Darida clipped a neat ball into Guede's feet from the right touchline, the striker cushioning the ball down to Felix Klaus who rifled sweetly past former Bayern goalie Kraft.

The drama wasn't over there - even as insipid as Hertha had shaped up for the previous 95 minutes of action. Nico Schulz had been shown a straight red card minutes before Brazilian star Ronny leveled with another dramatic free-kick, which was, perhaps, controversial in its award by referee Florian Meyer.

Harsh on Freiburg, in the end, but it meant another point on the table after a slow start to the season.