Werder Bremen go nine unbeaten with Nordderby win over Hamburg
Just 30 seconds were on the clock when the in-form Max Kruse was denied from pointblank range by Christian Mathenia’s rapid reflexes, but Gregoritsch showed he too can be quick on the draw, heading in Aaron Hunt’s cross to give the guests an early lead.
Kruse and Florian Grillitsch combined for a good opportunity for Bremen before Zlatko Junuzovic struck the post with a direct free-kick.
The long overdue equaliser eventually arrived five minutes before half-time with Kruse nodding in from close range.
Kruse returned the favour to Fin Bartels early in the second half as Bremen continued to set the tone at the Weser Stadium. Mathenia was called into action again by Grillitsch.
Hamburg then enjoyed a good 20 minutes before Kruse sent a warning into the side-netting. He then teed up Florian Kainz to give Bremen the points and extend their unbeaten streak to nine games.
Kruse may have been denied an early goal, but he did not let his head drop – instead using it to great effect to bring Bremen level with his ninth goal of the season before setting up Kainz for Bremen’s winner.
Bremen’s win saw them climb from within four points of the bottom three to within four points of sixth-placed Freiburg, emphasising how tight things remain between European qualification and relegation.
Hamburg were without Kyriakos Papadopoulos for only the third time this year, having lost the previous two games without the Greek 8-0 and 3-0.
Gregoritsch has a habit of scoring early goals against Bremen: he struck after three minutes in the reverse fixture – also with a header.
Kruse scored his first headed goal since November 2015, when Hamburg were also on the receiving end while he was wearing a Wolfsburg shirt.
Darmstadt snatch dramatic late win over Schalke
The hosts showed no sign that they were resigned to dropping out of the top flight just yet and they were soon ahead, Marcel Heller’s low cross eluding Schalke’s defence to be met by Mario Vrancic for a simple finish. The Lilies’ goal came under siege but they held firm, with Schalke’s best chance to level before the break coming when Michael Esser pulled off an excellent save to flick Thilo Kehrer’s downwards header over his crossbar.
The Darmstadt ‘keeper’s heroics continued after the break when he used his feet to save Guido Burgstaller’s penalty, awarded when Daniel Caligiuri’s run into the box was blocked by Aytac Sulu. Schalke were kept at bay until 15 minutes remained, when Dennis Aogo’s chip into the box was firmly headed home by an unmarked Coke. Leon Goretzka missed a chance to win it with a header shortly after, but Darmstadt were given hope when Kehrer was sent off after receiving a second yellow card.
They left it late to take advantage when Gondorf smashed the ball home at the back post after a melee in the penalty area.
GERMANY Bundesliga
Yesterday SV Werder Bremen-Hamburger SV..2-1 Darmstadt-Schalke ........................... 2-1
Standings
Bayern Munich 29 21 6 2 71 15 69 RB Leipzig 29 19 4 6 55 30 61 Hoffenheim 29 14 12 3 56 31 54 Dortmund 29 15 8 6 62 33 53 Hertha Berlin 29 13 4 12 37 35 43 SC Freiburg 29 12 5 12 36 51 41 FC Koln 29 10 10 9 42 36 40 W. Bremen 29 11 6 12 46 49 39 B. M’gladbach 29 11 6 12 37 41 39 E. Frankfurt 29 10 8 11 29 33 38 Schalke 29 10 7 12 38 34 37 B. Leverkusen 29 10 6 13 42 44 36 Wolfsburg 29 9 6 14 30 42 33 Hamburger 29 9 6 14 29 53 33 1. FSV Mainz 29 9 5 15 37 47 32 FC Augsburg 29 8 8 13 28 46 32 Ingolstadt 29 8 4 17 31 50 28 Darmstadt 29 5 3 21 21 57 18