Sandro Wagner (c.) wheels away in celebration after heading the winner in Hertha's game at Stuttgart
Sandro Wagner (c.) wheels away in celebration after heading the winner in Hertha's game at Stuttgart

Wagner's late strike hands Hertha victory

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Stuttgart - Hertha Berlin snatched all three points away to VfB Stuttgart courtesy of Sandro Wagner's last-gasp header.

Wagner to the rescue

The visitors started confidently, dominating proceedings in the early stages, and their dominance soon paid dividends when Adrian Ramos released Levan Kobiashvili inside the box, who left Sven Ulreich in goal no chance, scoring his first goal of the season from close range.

Stuttgart reacted well to that setback however, upping the pressure as the first half wore on, though clear-cut goalscoring opportunities proved difficult to come by. Timo Werner missed a rare chance for the home side before Arthur Boka did better slamming a fierce effort into the back of the net from the edge of the box.

Boosted by their leveller, Thomas Schneider's men remained in the driving seat after the break, looking the far more threatening side at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Mohammed Abdellaoue twice came close to giving the home side the lead only to see both efforts denied by visiting keeper Thomas Kraft.

Hertha were never going to give in, however, and the capital club punished VfB for their lack of a cutting edge in front of goal two minutes from time when substitute Sandro Wagner rose to meet Tolga Cigerci's free-kick from the right. With time against them Stuttgart failed to bounce back as Berlin clinched all three points, extending the host's losing streak to seven games.

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