Hoffenheim grabs victory over in-form Hertha
Andrej Kramaric and Sebastian Rudy were on the scoresheet as Hoffenheim returned to winning ways with a 2-0 triumph at home to Hertha Berlin on Saturday (AEDT).
Hertha was the form side coming into the contest, having won its previous two league outings, and three of its past five, but it was Hoffenheim, beaten 4-0 by Bayern Munich last week, which carved out the first chance of the match when Angelo Stiller fired wide from the edge of the box after a flowing team move.
Oliver Baumann had to be alert seconds later as Hertha provided an instant riposte, and he got down well to his right to deny Marco Richter on the counter.
Hoffenheim looked the more dangerous of the two going forward, though, and deservedly took the lead on 19 minutes when Kramaric scored after a clever dummy by Ihlas Bebou.
Robert Skov had a powerful header saved by Alexander Schwolow, and Stiller floated a shot on to the roof of the net before Rudy doubled his side’s lead, producing a controlled effort on the rebound from 12 yards after Skov had hit the post.
Hertha coach Pal Dardai introduced Stevan Jovetic and Myziane Maolida at the start of the second half as he looked to spark a response from his side, but Hoffenheim continued to pose far greater a threat going forward.
Bebou fired over with the first shot of the half and Kramaric had an attempt saved from a tight angle as the hosts controlled proceedings, denying Hertha a single shot on goal in the second 45 minutes – Maolida's disallowed goal coming after a free-kick the only noteworthy attack from the visitors.
Matters went from bad to worse for Hertha in the final quarter of an hour when Dedryck Boyata was sent off for a late tackle on Stiller, allowing Sebastian Hoeneß's side to shift down a gear and ease to its fourth Bundesliga win of the season.
