Schalke open lead, Stuttgart go second

AFP - 14 April 2007 19:32

Schalke´s Brazilian midfielder Lincoln celebrates scoring during their 29th day Bundesliga football match against FSV Mainz 05 at the Bruchweg stadium in Mainz, western Germany. Schalke 04 coach Mirko Slomka said his side took an important step towards the Bundesliga title after they opened a four-point gap at the top following Saturday´s 3-0 win at Mainz 05.

BERLIN (AFP) - Schalke 04 coach Mirko Slomka said his side took an important step towards the Bundesliga title after they opened a four-point gap at the top following Saturday's 3-0 win at Mainz 05.

German striker Kevin Kuranyi fired his side into an early 1-0 lead, before his header saw Gerald Asamoah headed home to make it 2-0 at half-time and Brazilian Lincoln sealed the win with a late strike from 30-metres out.

The win puts Schalke four points clear of Stuttgart - who moved up into second with a 2-1 win at Hanover - and with five games to go, Slomka says the leaders are on course to lift their first Budesliga title.

Schalke Coach Mirko Slomka said: "The team played well and knew exactly what was expected of them here. We had the right answers for any questions they threw at our defence and we played intelligently.

"We were patient in our build-up and deserved the goals, this was a landmark win for us."

With Werder Bremen taking on Borussia Dortmund on Sunday, VfB Stuttgart seized the chance to leap-frog their rivals into second, thanks to a second-half own goal.

Stuttgart coach Armin Veh was pleased his side ground out the win and said: "Hanover played very well, we hit them with a quick goal, but I could see early on that we were tired.

"We were always a step slower and were sluggish to react. Nevertheless, we have fought till the end and this was an important victory. If you want to keep the pressure on the teams above, you have to win these games."

Stuttgart got off to the best possible start at Hanover. Midfielder Roberto Hilbert struck after just two minutes before Hanover's USA defender Steven Cherundolo looked to have ruined the hosts party with his 61st minute goal.

But Hanover's Polish defender Dariusz Zuraw scored with an own goal in the 76th minute which gave Stuttgart the lead before some late drama when defender Arthur Boka was sent off in the 84th minute for a heavy challenge.

Hertha Berlin enjoyed their first win for nine games with a 3-1 win at VfL Bochum.

The Bundesliga's top-scorer Greek striker Theofanis Gekas bagged his 17th goal of the season in the first minute, but Berlin - who replaced their coach Falko Goetz with Karsten Heine in midweek - launched a second-half fight back.

First striker Christian Gimenez scored in the 58th minute, then Brazilian midfielder Gilberto put them ahead on 66 minutes, before substitute striker Chinedu Ede's left-footed strike in the 90th minute sealed the win.

There was a six-goal thriller in the relegation battle at Arminia Bielefeld as Eintracht Frankfurt ran out 4-2 winners.

Greek striker Ioannis Amanatidis gave Frankfurt an early lead, only for Bielefeld's Radim Kucera to equalise on 28 mins.

But the guests took a 2-1 half-time lead when defender Aleksandar Vasoski headed his side into the lead from a free-kick five minutes later.

And Amanatidis scored a penalty two minutes into the second-half to make it 3-1 before Bielefeld's substitute striker Christian Eigler scored with a header in the 81st minute to make it 3-2.

But Marcel Heller's left-footed shot in the second minute of injury time put the result beyond doubt for Frankfurt.

Energie Cottbus are up to seventh - two places away from a UEFA Cup berth - with a 3-2 home win over VfL Wolfsburg.

After striker Sergiu Radu gave them a 1-0 half-time lead with his 20th minute strike, Cottbus hit their guests with a lightening strike to go 3-0 ahead.

Romanian midfielder Vlad Munteanu hit the back of the net in the 56th minute, only for Cameron striker Francis Kioyo to score less than 60 seconds later, before Wolfsburg's Isaac Boakye and Cedrick Makiadi grabbed late consolation goals.

Nuremburg stay fifth thanks to their 1-0 win at home to Alemannia Aachen.

On Sunday, Werder Bremen have the chance to re-claim second place at relegation-threatened Borussia Dortmund, while fourth-placed Bayern Munich are at Bayern Leverkusen.

And on Friday night, bottom-side Borussia Moenchengladbach suffered a 90th minute heart-break when Hamburg's Peruvian striker Jose Paolo Guerrero scored to give his side a 1-0 win and leave M'Gladbach five points from possible safety.