Bremen hit six, top Bundesliga

Home advantage was largely meaningless for the first fixtures of match day 13 in the Bundesliga. Only Schalke managed to deliver a win for their local supporters.

Schalke's 2-0 victory came at the expense of Hanover, the club that lost its star goalkeeper Robert Enke a few days ago. Players all over the league wore black armbands in memory of the international goalie and observed a minute's silence in his honor. The Hanover players all had Enke's number "1" emblazoned on their shirts in black.

"It was a very difficult day," admitted new Hanover captain Arnold Bruggink. "We had to get on with it after the minute's silence, and once the game started we managed somehow. We gave our all."

The match was understandably muted but still entertaining - Schalke had the best of the play but made a host of mistakes in dangerous areas, allowing the visitors plenty of good chances. However, Schalke's Peruvian striker Jefferson Farfan grabbed the opener with around 20 minutes remaining, emphatically heading home a near-post corner. In the dying moments Farfan's replacement, 20 year-old Jan Moravek, put the result beyond any doubt. That win puts Schalke third in the table, on 25 points.

Huge away wins

Werder Bremen became the latest team to top the table - at least for the next 24 hours. It destroyed Freiburg 6-0 away from home, and now lead outright with 26 points. German international playmaker Mesut Oezil was outstanding, scoring one goal, setting up three, and winning a penalty in the course of the match. As the score-line suggests, Bremen were in a different class throughout and could have won by an even greater margin.

Hoffenheim traveled well on Saturday too, securing a 4-0 win in Cologne. Carlos Eduardo set the tone just five minutes into the game with a spectacular drive into the bottom corner from outside the area. Shinedu Obasi added another a few minutes later, and strikers Demba Ba and Vedad Ibisevic both got on the score sheet in the second half. Cologne looked demoralized in the second half, and many of the home supporters who stayed to watch the full ninety minutes did so with their backs turned in protest against their team's performance.

Around the league

Defending champions Wolfsburg slipped up again on Saturday, losing 3-2 to Nuremberg in their own back yard. Swiss goal poacher Albert Bunjaku grabbed a brace, but the stoppage-time winner came from midfielder Peer Kluge, securing three crucial points for newly-promoted Nuremberg who are likely to fight for their survival this season. Wolfsburg, on the other hand, have dropped further adrift of the European qualification spots, lying seventh in the table.

Two of the most impressive relegation candidates this season - Borussia Mönchengladbach and Frankfurt - faced each other, with Gladbach coming out 2-1 winners on the road. The guests scored a couple of goals fairly early in the second half, and although Frankfurt clawed one back, they couldn't find the equalizer. Eleventh-placed Frankfurt still sit one spot above Gladbach in the league.

The evening fixture between Borussia Dortmund and Mainz was a non-starter, with the fans in Dortmund's Westfalen stadium treated to a goalless bore draw.

Finally, in Stuttgart, bottom-of-the-table Hertha Berlin managed to salvage a point against fellow under-achievers Stuttgart. Colombian newcomer Adrian Ramos put Berlin ahead just after the restart, but Berlin couldn't hang on for the win, conceding a 73rd minute equalizer. One point, however, was not enough to lift Berlin off the bottom of the table, nor was it enough to get Stuttgart out of the relegation zone.

On Sunday Bayer Leverkusen travel to Bayern Munich, and could go top if they get a result there. Fellow front-runners Hamburg have a rather easier fixture on home turf against Bochum.

Author: Mark Hallam

Editor: Ian P. Johnson