Drmic double lifts Nürnberg out of the relegation zone
Berlin - 1. FC Nürnberg moved out of the bottom three of the Bundesliga after coming from behind to inflict a 3-1 defeat on Hertha Berlin.
Ramos opener
Adrian Ramos gave the hosts an early lead and took his place at the top of the Bundesliga scoring charts with his 12th of the season, but a Markus Feulner effort saw the two teams go in on level terms at the break. With his third and fourth goals of 2014, Josip Drmic then snatched victory for the Bavarians, who leap above Hamburger SV and SC Freiburg with their second straight victory in the new year.
Keen to bounce straight back from a 1-0 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt a week ago, Hertha started on the front foot against a Nürnberg side who picked up their first win of the season against 1899 Hoffenheim seven days ago. The hosts took the lead as early as the fourth minute when Ramos showed courage and conviction to beat Javier Pinola to a corner from the left and nod the ball just inside Raphael Schäfer's near post.
Ramos was nearly sent clear for another chance moments later, but Schäfer was quick off his line to deny the Colombian. Hertha were still pushing for a second when Nürnberg hit back to level through Feulner. A poor clearance from Johannes van den Bergh fell straight to the feet of the former FC Bayern midfielder, who did not hesitate as he fired the ball into the far corner.
Nürnberg improve
The goal gave Nürnberg more belief and Timothy Chandler tried his luck from distance, only to see his shot fly just wide of the right-hand upright. However, Hertha could and perhaps should have ended the first half in the lead when Ramos somehow managed to lift the ball over the crossbar from 15 yards with only Schäfer to beat.
Nürnberg were able to breathe a sigh of relief at that miss, and they emerged for the second half with a more positive approach to the game, reminiscent of their victory over Hoffenheim last weekend. Hertha, meanwhile, posed a great threat from set-pieces, although Ronny sent two of these into the wall as the hosts failed to find a way through.
Drmic at the double
The stage was set for Drmic to put Nürnberg in front with his ninth strike of the campaign. He got the move going, sending Daniel Ginczek through, but the latter's angled shot came back off the inside of the post. Fortunately for Drmic - but not for Hertha - the ball fell to the Swiss striker, who stroked it in before celebrating in the snow behind Thomas Kraft's goal.
Hertha threw caution to the wind and almost got their reward when Ronny's effort was stopped on the line by Ondrej Petrak, who used his hand to keep the ball out. Ramos was on hand to tuck the rebound in, although the whistle had already been blown - denying Hertha a penalty and a one-man advantage for the final minutes of the game. A penalty was given at the other end, though, when Marcel Ndjeng felled Drmic, allowing Drmic to fire home from the spot and lift the visitors above Hamburger SV and SC Freiburg and into 15th.
Line-ups and statistics
