Dortmund stay clear at top as Moenchengladbach maintain pace

By Barry Whelan Feb 18, 2012, 16:39 GMT

Berlin - Borussia Dortmund stayed clear at the top of the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win at crisis club Hertha Berlin Saturday, while Borussia Moenchengladbach kept up the pressure by winning 2-1 at Kaiserslautern.

Dortmund set a club record of 16 games without defeat and made it six wins in a row thanks to a winning 66th-minute goal from Kevin Grosskreutz in Berlin's Olympic Stadium - a fifth successive defeat for Hertha.

The reigning champions move to 49 points, three ahead of Moenchengladbach. Bayern Munich could reduce Dortmund's lead back to two points with a win at bottom side Freiburg in the day's later game.

Hertha, who have now gone 11 games without a win, have appointed Otto Rehhagel to take charge for the rest of the season. The 73-year-old coach, who led Greece to the Euro 2004 title, will take over from Sunday.

Hertha had former Dortmund player and Under-19 coach Rene Tretschok in charge as caretaker coach for the visit of Dortmund, following the sacking last weekend of Michael Skibbe.

Tretschok had called for passion and for long spells Hertha were a match for Juergen Klopp's side, but the visitors settled it with an overhead kick from Grosskreutz after Thomas Kraft in goal did well to save a Robert Lewandowski header onto the post.

Rehhagel will now arrive at a side who are fourth last, two points off the relegation zone.

Moenchengladbach held on for a 2-1 win at lowly Kaiserslautern courtesy of goals from Patrick Herrmann in the ninth minute and Juan Arango with a clever chip five minutes later.

Herrmann was stretchered off towards the end of the first-half with a suspected fractured collarbone and Gladbach were made to fight when Leon Jessen pulled a goal back in the 63rd minute.

The win is the seventh in eight undefeated games in both league and cup for Moenchengladbach.

Werder Bremen stayed fifth after a 3-1 win at rivals Hamburg, scoring through Marko Marin in the ninth minute, Tom Trybull with a header from a corner on the stroke of half-time and Marko Arnautovic four minutes from time.

Hamburg had reduced the deficit with a deflected free-kick from Mladen Petric in the 76th minute.

Stefan Kiessling scored in each half as Bayer Leverkusen kept Augsburg second last with a 4-1 victory.

Kiessling headed Leverkusen in front from a corner in the 25th minute before the visitors levelled just after the break through Koo Ja Cheol.

But three goals in 10 minutes midway through the half settled it for Leverkusen, with Gonzalo Castro netting on the hour, Kiessling notching his second four minutes later and Andre Schuerrle making it four in the 70th.

Nuremberg overtook Cologne thanks to a 2-1 win in a match between two teams in the lower reaches of the table.

Alexander Esswein put the home side ahead with a goal from outside the area in the 28th minute and Tomas Pekhart headed the winner five minutes from time after Milivoje Novakovic levelled in the 66th.