Home wins for Hoffenheim, Augsburg and Mainz
Munich - 1899 Hoffenheim, FC Augsburg and 1. FSV Mainz 05 all picked up important wins on Matchday 19 of the Bundesliga.
1899 Hoffenheim 3-0 Hamburger SV
bundesliga.com rounds up Saturday's action from Germany's top flight...
1899 Hoffenheim handed their worst defensive record in the Bundesliga over to Hamburger SV with a 3-0 win over the north German side at the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena.
It was expected to be a scrap for the points, but instead it turned into a parade. Hoffenheim faced up to the challenge with Roberto Firmino putting them ahead early on, putting the finishing touch to a swift counterattack to beat Jaroslav Drobny. Hamburg's reply was a series of free kicks from Rafael van der Vaart, none of which threatened Koen Casteels' goal. Hoffenheim, by contrast, were far more of a threat, and Niklas Süle ensured they took a two-goal lead into the break as he leapt highest to head in at the far post.
Leaky Hamburg
There was little sign of an improvement from the guests in the second half either, and Hoffenheim put the result beyond doubt thanks to Andreas Beck's first goal of the season. Once again, it looked too easy for Firmino to get in around the back and pull the ball across for the defender to tuck in from close range.
Hamburg, who have now conceded 43 - one more than Hoffenheim - had no reply, going down to a fifth straight defeat for only the third time in their history, and leaving them inside the bottom three, while Hoffenheim opened up a gap of five points over the relegation zone with a much-needed win.
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FC Augsburg 3-1 SV Werder Bremen
FC Augsburg moved to within two points of the top six thanks to a 3-1 win over ten-man SV Werder Bremen.
Alexander Manninger took his place in the Augsburg goal in the absence of Marwin Hitz and he was put to the test immediately as Bremen opened the scoring with their quickest goal of the season. Zlatko Junuzovic's corner was met by Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker, who headed the ball into his own goal. It was a bright start and the frenetic pace was sustained as Augsburg sought, and found, an equaliser through Werner, whose low free kick took a slight deflection on its way into the bottom corner.
Augsburg ease to victory
Bremen were reduced to ten men just before the break when Santiago Garcia picked up a second yellow card, much to his displeasure. That feeling was shared throughout the Bremen ranks when Halil Altintop volleyed in his sixth goal of the season from a sweeping cross to put the hosts in front early in the second half. Bremen's day got even worse when a defensive mix-up was pounced on by Andre Hahn, who increased Augsburg's lead with ease.
It was more a case of damage limitation for Bremen from thereon in, but Augsburg had already done enough to reinforce their place in the top half of the table, leaving Robin Dutt's men just four points above the drop zone.
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1. FSV Mainz 05 2-0 SC Freiburg
1. FSV Mainz 05's South Korean connection Joo-Ho Park and Ja-Cheol Koo were both on target in a 2-0 win over struggling SC Freiburg.
Shinji Okazaki thought he had scored his 10th goal of the season early on, but the Japanese forward was in an offside position when he flicked the ball into the top right-hand corner. It was nevertheless a strong opening from the hosts, who were putting Oliver Baumann to the test regularly, and they soon got their reward when Park tried his luck from nearly 30 yards out and, with the aid of a deflection, the ball looped over the keeper.
Second Korean goal
Admir Mehmedi delivered Freiburg's first shot of the game midway through the second half, sending in another effort shortly after as the guests threatened a recovery. Mainz tightened things up, though, and when the opportunity presented itself, they struck a second with Koo cutting inside and curling a delightful effort into the top left-hand corner to seal the points late on.
The result lifts Mainz even closer to the top six, leaving Freiburg hanging on just above the bottom three.
Line-ups and statistics
