Skibbe expects reaction to defeats

Hertha Berlin coach Michael Skibbe will be asking serious questions of his side this week after losing his second game since taking over at the club during the winter break. Berlin were beaten 2-1 at home by Hamburg and Skibbe was lost for words to describe his team's first-half performance. "Either you go out onto the field and fight, otherwise you are better off staying in the dressing room," he said. "The first half was an example of how not to play in the Bundesliga. It was terrible, absolutely awful and we are going to have to talk about it. I expect a clear reaction against Hannover next week." Hamburg coach Thorsten Frink was satisfied with his side's reaction to a similarly terrible performance last weekend when they lost 5-1 at home to Borussia Dortmund. "It was important that we showed a reaction and to win after the 5-1," he told Sky TV. "Many people wanted to see everything all negative again, but I felt that we played a decent game - not fantastic, but decent. After the 5-1, this shows that the team really has character and self confidence."