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Monchengladbach, Hamburg win in German Bundesliga

Xinhua, May 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

Monchengladbach recaptured the third place with a 2-1 win over Berlin meanwhile relegation threatened Hamburg earned vital points against Mainz to close the 31st round of Bundesliga on Sunday.

Monchengladbach set the course for a direct UEFA Champions League ticket as they move on the third place after beating Berlin 2-1 thanks to the winner by substitute Ibrahima Traore in the dying minutes of the game.

The "Foals" grabbed a perfect start on the road as Max Kruse broke the deadlock with just 11 minutes into the game when he made use of a square pass by Raffael from eleven meters.

However, it was a short-lived joy by the visitors as Berlin responded only two minutes later through Valentin Stocker, who headed home a rebound that dropped of the bar from three meters.

Monchengladbach dictated the pace against passive hosts. Nonetheless, despite the dominant performance Lucien Favre' s men had to wait until the 85th minute before Ibrahima Traore snatched the deserved 2-1 lead to make the game safe.

With the 17th win of the season the "Foals" recapture the third place meanwhile Berlin stay on the 13th place.

"We have to accept the defeat as Monchengladbach played very well today," Berlin coach Pal Dardai said.

Elsewhere, Hamburg earned crucial points in their relegation battle as they overcame Mainz 2-1 on the road to climb out of the bottom three. Mainz midfielder Julian Baumgartlinger opened the scoring for the visitors with an owngoal before Yunus Malli levelled the scores. Nevertheless, Hamburg were able to reap three points as Gojko Kacar' s long range shot marked the 2-1 winner just before the finals whistle.

Things went from bad to worse in the closing period as Mainz' Daniel Brosinski was sent off with a straight red card following a professional foul to Artjoms Rudnevs.

"After the 1-1 we wanted more, instead, we lost everything," Mainz coach Martin Schmidt said.

With the vital 2-1 win Hamburg climb out of the bottom three to move on the 14th place while Mainz stay on the 10th place. Endi