Hertha Berlin made up ground on league leaders FC Bayern München with 2-0 win over Hamburger SV.

Hertha Berlin 2-0 Hamburger SV

Goals: 1-0 Ibisevic (29'), 2-0 Ibisevic (70')

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- © imago / Sebastian Wells

Hertha hoped to keep up their good home record against Hamburg in recent years, but faced a committed team under new coach Markus Gisdol. Douglas Santos, Lewis Holtby, and Albin Ekdal all found their way into the referee’s book before the halftime whistle. Hertha had the upper hand for much of the first half, at one point hitting woodwork twice in the space of a minute when Mitchell Weiser rattled the crossbar and Genki Haraguchi slammed his shot from distance into the post. The capital club took the lead inside the half-hour when captain Ibisevic managed to get hold of a ball that had ping-ponged its way through the penalty area following a corner kick to slot it past Rene Adler.

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Hamburg seemed hell-bent on finding an equaliser as the second half began, committing numbers forward and winning free kicks through the bold one-on-one dribbling of Filip Kostic and others. This meant the capital club had plenty of chances to hit them on the counter, but didn’t hit paydirt until the 70th minute. Valentin Stocker, who had muffed a chance just minutes earlier, won a penalty after Ekdal cut down his speedy run down the left channel and Ibisevic put it away with a crisp down-the-middle finish. Alexander Esswein and Julian Schieber each came close to adding a third just before time but neither turned out to be necessary as Hertha held on to claim their fourth win of the season.

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Talking Point

Hamburg showed plenty of desire as they played their first match under new coach Gisdol, but it wasn't enough to trouble a Hertha side determined to protect its home turf. Ibisevic's quick feet earned the capital club the lead in the first half, and their effective counter (and a coolly taken penalty from Ibisevic) put the game out of reach in the second.

Match Stats

Ibisevic's brace (the 20th of his Bundesliga career) came just hours after his wife Zerina gave birth to their second child.Hamburg conceded earlier here than they had all season - before Ibisevic scored in the 29th minute, all 10 goals Hamburg had conceded came in the 66th minute or later.The Bosnia-Herzegovina international's goals were his 96th and 97th in the Bundesliga, and 8th and 9th all-time against Hamburg.

Line-ups

Hertha: Jarstein - Weiser, Langkamp, Stark, Plattenhardt - Skjelbred, Lustenberger - Esswein (Kurt 90'), Stocker (Allan 73'), Haraguchi - Ibisevic (c) (Schieber 86')

Coach: Pal Dardai

Hamburg: Adler (c) - Sakai, Cleber, Spahic, Douglas Santos - Ekdal (Gregortisch 71'), Holtby - Kostic, Müller - Wood (Halilovic 60'), Lasogga

Coach: Markus Gisdol