John Brooks scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season last week, an important one in a furious 4-4 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. With Hertha BSC hovering around the bottom of the table, the three points were vital.
What a difference a week makes.
Another 90 minutes went by, and these weren’t so great for the American defender. He scored an own-goal and conceded a penalty - both inside a two-minute span midway through the first half - and Hertha succumbed to a 5-0 thrashing by top-half side Hoffenheim.
You can see video of the own goal here, as a cross by Kevin Volland came right in front of goal, and with Brooks streaking back to cover his man, it fell at his feet, and at such a close range to the goal he was unable to direct it away.
https://dailymotion.com/video/x2d1p4z
That put Hoffenheim 1-0 up in the 23rd minute. Just two ticks later, Brooks then conceded a penalty that Sejad Salihovic put away for a 2-0 lead and the game was out of reach. Salihovic would get another before halftime, and Hertha would concede twice more before the final whistle.
Hertha has now conceded a disgusting 35 goals in just 17 matches, only bested in the German top flight by Werder Bremen’s 39. They’ve given up three or more goals in a match five times this year, including three matches where they’ve been hit for at least four. Brooks was in the lineup and played the full 90 minutes in all three. Consequently, Brooks has started and played the full 90 in just one of Hertha’s three clean sheets this season.