Article
Hamburg miss out on fourth, Hoffenheim stay top
BERLIN (AFP) - Hamburg were held 1-1 at VfL Bochum on Sunday to miss out on fourth in the Bundesliga while Bayern Munich went second in the table over the weekend to set up a key clash with league leaders Hoffenheim on Friday.
A goal from Bochum's Slovakia striker Stanislav Sestak in the 39th minute shocked Martin Jol-coached Hamburg before the guests were rescued by striker Ivica Olic who slotted home 20 minutes from time.
The draw keeps the north German club fifth in the table while Bochum are three from bottom, but they just missed out on a deserved win when Sestak hit the post in the last ten minutes which denied him a second.
"We have a young squad, but they still have much to learn," said Jol.
"We had to play catch-up in the second-half, we had our chances, but so did Bochum. To that extent, we have to be happy with the one point."
Ex-Germany defender Markus Babbel enjoyed a winning start to his tenure as Stuttgart coach when as his side picked up their first win in six games with a 2-0 win over Schalke to leave his side 10th in the table.
"That cost me a few nerves," said Babbel. "Particularly in the first half, we were not organised.
"In the second-half, things got better and we took our chances."
Former Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann saved a 16th minute penalty from Schalke's Peru striker Jefferson Farfan to keep the scores level with his side badly in need of league points.
With time running out Czech Republic midfielder Jan Simak lobbed Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer 11 minutes from time to put Stuttgart ahead before Germany striker Mario Gomez made the result safe with a strike on 83 minutes.
It gives Babbel a confidence-boosting win having succeeded Armin Veh as head coach last weekend.
Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg also battled away to a 0-0 draw.
On Saturday, surprise package Hoffenheim stayed top after a 3-0 home win over Arminia Bielefeld but Bayern Munich remain in hot pursuit with a 2-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayern will draw level on points with Hoffenheim at the top of the table if they beat the leaders at Munich's Allianz Arena on Friday.
League top scorer Vedad Ibisevic, with the Bosnian's 17th of the season, and Carlos Eduardo scored inside the opening 11 minutes before Francisco Copado netted a last-minute spotkick to make it 11 league wins and 34 points from 15 games for Hoffenheim.
Bayern are now second, three points adrift, after Luca Toni, with a header, and Miroslav Klose scored after the break to move them above a Bayer Leverkusen side who had stood third at start of play.
"I am naturally very happy with the victory," said Klinsmann.
"We showed our class in the second half. We complement Hoffenheim, but we are looking forward to playing them on Friday and have set ourselves the target of being top of the league."
Chelsea misfit Claudio Pizarro managed the individual exploit of the day with a hat-trick as his Werder Bremen thrashed Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0 on the River Weser.
And Energie Cottbus lifted themselves out of the bottom three with a 3-1 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Karlsruhe drop to the bottom of the league with a 3-2 defeat at Hanover.
Third are Hertha Berlin, a point behind Bayern after the Berliners beat Cologne 2-1 on Friday.
Info
Lineups
| Player | Bookings |
|---|---|
| D. Fernandes | |
A. Yahia
|
|
| M. Maltritz | |
| C. Fuchs | |
|
C. Dabrowski
|
 10'
|
| T. Zdebel | |
| O. Schröder | |
| P. Freier |
68'
|
| J. Epalle | |
| S. Sestak |
80'
|
|
M. Mieciel
|
Substitutions
| Player | Bookings |
|---|---|
|
for A. Yahia 40' |
|
|
for C. Dabrowski 73' |
|
|
for M. Mieciel 80' |
| Player | Bookings |
|---|---|
| F. Rost | |
|
M. Jansen
|
|
| J. Mathijsen | |
| G. Demel | |
| B. Reinhardt | |
|
J. Boateng
|
|
| Alex Silva | |
| D. Aogo | |
| D. Jarolim | |
|
P. Guerrero
|
|
| M. Petric |
Substitutions
| Player | Bookings |
|---|---|
|
for J. Boateng 58' |
|
|
for M. Jansen 65' |
|
|
for P. Guerrero 85' |
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