Bundesliga Round-Up: Schalke Hit Five, Werder Win

Hansa Rostock 1-2 Werder Bremen

Werder Bremen held onto second place with a 2-1 away win at Rostock thanks to Ivan Klasnic following up a missed Naldo penalty after Frings had given them an earlier lead.

The first half saw an open game with both sides creating their chances but no-one converting. Hansa were clever defensively and looked to play on the counter attack against a fine Werder offence.

The away side had the better of the game in the first 45 minutes but were just unable to convert this advantage into clear goal scoring chances. Seven minutes into the second period however, a dream goal from Werder midfielder Torsten Frings gave them the lead.

The German international midfielder let fly from around 25 meters and saw the ball fly into the corner of the Rostock goal to make it 1-0.

Werder looked to be controlling the game but the home side equalised on 76 with a goal from Sebastian Hähnge. Pearce was played in down the left, and he played the ball to the substitute, who tucked away the chance from 12 meters.

Werder however were given a lifeline on 81 meters but very nearly wasted it. A penalty was awarded but centre back Naldo saw his effort saved by Wächter. Luckily for the visitors Klasnic was the quickest to react and tucked the rebound in from close range.

Schalke 5-0 Energie Cottbus

If the sacking of Mirko Slomka was supposed to get a reaction from the players, then it succeeded. Under the temporary stewardship of Mike Büskens and Youri Mulder, Schalke grabbed an important morale-boosting 5-0 win over Energie Cottbus at the Veltins Arena.

Under-fire striker Kevin Kuranyi helped himself to four goals.

Both sides had chances to take the lead in the opening ten minutes with first Albert Streit missing the target, and then da Silva whipping a very dangerous ball across Manuel Neuer’s area. Schalke steadily built up the pressure and should have taken the lead on 13 minutes through Kevin Kuranyi.

As the home side continued to squander chances they were rewarded with a goal on 31 minutes with Vragel da Silva putting through his own net. Pander flighted in a free kick, which Bordon nodded down, only for the hapless Cottbus player to scuff into his own goal as he tried to clear.

Clearly buoyed by the goal Schalke then scored a second on 37 minutes. Pander chased a ball down on the bye-line before cutting an excellent ball back to Ernst. The midfielder fired across the face of the goal and Kuranyi was on hand to tap in ahead of Cvitanovic.

The Königsblauen were flying and grabbed a third before half time as Cottbus tottered. Kuranyi received a pass from Sanchez, cut inside before curling a super shot into the right hand corner of the goal.

The home side came out looking hungry at the start of the second 45 minutes and striker Kevin Kuranyi duly bagged his hat trick on 59 minutes. The forward was played onside by Ziebig and kept his cool well to slot past Tremmel when Ernst’s ball fell to him inside the penalty area.

4-0 became 5-0 on 80 minutes and it was Kuranyi again who was on the mark. Ernst won the ball in midfield again, Rafinha crossed and Kuranyi bravely headed in past Tremmel and received a punch in the face for his troubles.

Hertha Berlin 0-0 Hamburg

A poor quality game at the Olympiastadion ended goalless and that is what it deserved. The result is a further blow to HSV’s Champions League ambitions.

Hamburg should have taken the lead as early as the first minute after Olic latched onto an under-hit back pass from Skacel. The Croatian rounded Drobny in the Hertha goal but could only direct his shot into the side netting.

The half then deteriorated into a poor game with just one further chance falling to Ben-Hatira, who had come on to replace the injured Sorin.

The home side did get the ball into net on 61 minutes through Piszczek but it was rightly ruled out for offside. Hamburg also had a great chance to open the scoring on 75 minutes with a penalty, but Ivica Olic saw his effort go wide with the keeper diving completely the wrong way.

In the end the 0-0 matched the quality of the game.

Wolfsburg 0-1 Bochum

Wolfsburg suffered a rare defeat in a game that they really deserved to win. A second half goal from Stanislav Sestak sealed the three points for VfL Bochum.

The first half at the Volkswagen Arena saw pretty much one-way traffic in the direction of the Bochum goal, but Felix Magath’s side were just unable to find a way through at the crucial moment.

Plenty of corners and free kicks were fired into the Bochum area, but keeper Renno kept the ‘Wolves’ at bay.

Despite the first half dominance, it was Bochum who grabbed the only goal of the game in the second half. Stanislav Sestak received the ball from Tommy Bechmann after a fine solo run and slotted past Diego Benaglio with a right-foot shot from the penalty spot.

source:goal.com