BERLIN, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Hertha Berlin came back twice to share the spoils with Schalke following a two-all draw at the opener of the 19th round in Bundesliga on Friday.
Both sides staged a lively opening period but it was the visitors who broke the deadlock with 17 minutes into the game when Yevhen Konoplyanka unleashed a hammer from 19 meters to shock the hosts.
Berlin remained unimpressed and responded through a fast break in the 39th minute as Ondrej Duda's back-heel pass allowed Marko Grujic to restore parity with a well-placed shot.
Schalke, as well as Berlin, remained on the front foot but it was again the "Royal Blues" who grabbed the 2-1 lead after Mark Uth capitalized on Bastian Oczipka's assist from 11 meters in the 44th minute.
However, Berlin bounced back once again only moments later after Vedad Ibisevic nodded home Davie Selke's delivery into the box in the closing period of the first half.
After the restart, Berlin had the chance to grab the lead but Schalke goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel defused Davie Selke's promising effort in the 51st minute.
Schalke responded with frenetic attacks but Berlin custodian Rune Jarstein was on guard as well to defuse the efforts from Suat Serdar and Steven Skrzybski in the 73rd minute.
Both teams pressed for the winner but they lacked in accuracy and had to settle for a 2-2 stalemate.
With the result, Berlin remain on the 7th position of the standings whereas Schalke continue on the 12th place.
"We grabbed a good start into the game and controlled the proceedings for most of the time," Schalke head coach Domenico Tedesco said.
The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: front-runners Borussia Dortmund host struggling Hannover, third-placed Borussia Monchengladbach encounter Augsburg, Freiburg face Hoffenheim, Mainz see bottom side Nuremberg, Wolfsburg clash with Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen take on Eintracht Frankfurt.
