Michael Bradley helped the Foals to a spectacular victory over Hamburg while Ian Joy did his part as Ingolstadt's defense registered their second straight shut-out in Heidenheim.
Hamburger SV 2 - 3 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Michael Bradley went the distance for Borussia Mönchengladbach as the twice came from behind to notch up their third victory of the season on the visit to Hamburg.
With the Foals desperately trying to find their way out of a seven-game winless rut and their hosts still undefeated in the league, the seeming heavy mismatch between the two teams looked to be confirmed with Hamburg's opening goal in the 13th minute.
Chesting the ball down in the Foals' penalty area, Jonathan Pitroipa quickly dropped a short pass back to Piotr Trochowski who was perfect with his low one-timed shot just inside the left post of Logan Bailly's goal.
Bradley was integral in the buildup as the Foals drew even in the 39th minute, with Roberto Colautti springing Marco Reus free on goal with a through ball, who had no problems to beat Frank Rost for the equalizer.
HSV took the lead once again two minutes past the break when Ze Roberto fired a free kick just out of Bailly's reach after being fouled by Roel Brouwers, and could have increased their lead when a clear foul from Bradley on the Brazilian just inside the area was let go by the referee shortly thereafter.
Gladbach once again pulled even in the 76th minute with Dante heading in some short corner trickery from Juan Arango, then the Venezuelan international set up the winner six minutes later, firing a long cross into the box from the left flank which Canadian forward Rob Friend poked just inside the near post for the final 3-2 victory.
The win leaves the Foals two points clear of the relegation line in 12th place, and they will hope to make it two in a row on Saturday when they host Stuttgart.
FC Cologne 0 - 1 Hannover 96
Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 kept FC Cologne off the scoreboard on Saturday, stealing an away win through a goal by Jan Rosenthal in the 37th minute.
Cherundolo and the Hannover defense, which welcomed back goalkeeper Robert Enke after a 63-day absence, recorded their second shutout in as many weeks, despite the team's ongoing personnel problems.
Hannover was definitely the more active of the two teams in the first half, applying constant pressure on the offensive end. They were nearly awarded in the 11th minute when a shot from Rosenthal was blocked by Colombian keeper Faryd Mondragon, and picked up by Didier Ya Konan, whose follow-up was cleared off the line by defender Pedro Geromel.
Hanno Balitsch also had a chance to score in the 33rd minute, shortly before Rosenthal put the guests ahead for good with his ten-yard volley from the center of the area.
Cologne is the worst offensive team in the league this season, having scored only six goals in 11 games and did not show any signs of life against Hannover.
The team from head coach Zvonimir Soldo only had three real scoring opportunities and lacked creativity, relying far too often on ineffective long balls played to forwards Manasseh Ishiaku and Milivoje Novakovic.
Cologne's first real scoring opportunity didn't come until the second half, after the team had already been booed off the field at half time. They played more determined after the break, but still couldn't muster any real scoring threats leading to even more jeering from fans after the final whistle blew.
Hannover will be at home next weekend as they take on Hamburger SV.
1860 Munich 0 - 1 FC Kaiserslautern
Kenny Cooper saw the last 15 minutes of action for the Lions, but was unable to help them recover from a first-half goal by their visitors Kaiserslautern as they dropped their second straight league contest on Sunday.
After their midweek German Cup loss to Schalke, 1860 had hoped to turn the tide in their increasingly disastrous league campaign, but knew they faced a tough road in hosting Kaiserslautern, who have their eyes set on the league title.
The Red Devils took the lead for good two minutes past the half-hour mark as Sidney Sam sent a pass from the left side of the box to Erik Jendrisek, who hit his shot from directly in front of goal to the upper right corner.
Cooper entered the game in the 75th minute for his third straight sub appearance in the league, but was unable to catalyze the Lions to a comeback as they continued their nosedive toward the bottom three.
The Lions will attempt to improve on their 15th place standing when they head north to take on struggling Cottbus on Sunday.
FC Heidenheim - FC Ingolstadt 04
Ian Joy notched up his second straight start at left back for Ingolstadt, going 72 minutes and picking up a yellow card as they took the three points in Heidenheim thanks to a dramatic last-second goal.
Having pulled out a tight scoreless draw against Dresden one week before, Ingolstadt were looking to take the three points on the road to halt a troublesome three-game winless run that had seen them fall to seventh place.
While both teams kept the tempo strong in search for a victory, neither was able to create any real danger throughout regulation as both defenses held tight.
With the game seeming headed for a scoreless draw, the Schanzer finally grabbed the three points Ingolstadt's Moritz Hartmann rose above the Heidenheim defense to head in a cross from Stefan Leitl to give his team the important victory.
Joy picked up his first yellow card of the campaign in the 70th minute and left he field two minutes later for fellow defender Ralf Keidel.
The win pushes Ingolstadt to sixth place, only two points off of the third-place promotion playoff spot in a tight race at the top of the standings.
Joy will hope to keep his spot in the starting eleven when the team hosts Wuppertaler SV Borussia on Sunday.
Notes
Bryan Arguez did not suit up for last-place Hertha on Friday as they continued their path to relegation with a 2-0 loss to visiting Borussia Dortmund.
Jermaine Jones is still recovering from a broken leg and was not a part of the Schalke squad on Friday that drew 1-1 at home with league leaders Leverkusen.
David Yelldell was injured and did not take part in Koblenz's 3-0 loss at home to Duisburg on Sunday.
Matt Taylor did not make if off of FSV Frankfurt's bench as they fell to Union Berlin on the road by a 1-0 score. |
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