Bayern scrape through
October 24, 2009
Bayern left it until late in their 2-1 home win over Eintracht Frankfurt after Alexander Meier opened the scoring for the visitors on the hour mark.
Bayern dominated the early exchanges but Italian striker Luca Toni and others were unable to take advantage of the possession. The right post kept Toni from the scoresheet in the first half, with the Bayern fans seeing fit to boo the team from the field at halftime.
The Munich faithful would have been baying for blood on the hour mark when Frankfurt frontman Meier slotted past goalkeeper Hans-Joerg Butt after a crafty through-ball from Patrick Ochs.
But the lead was short-lived. Dutchman Arjen Robben equalized for Bayern 10 minutes later after Frankfurt keeper Oka Nikolov was too late to meet a cross, presenting an easy tap-in for the substitute Robben. Belgian defender Daniel van Buyten then sealed the win for Bayern with a header on the 88-minute mark.
Bayern coach Louis van Gaal had this to say after the win: "We were very strong mentally and managed to turn it around. I don't know if it really was a lucky win."
Bayern move temporarily to fifth place in the league, while Frankfurt stay anchored in ninth place.
Stuttgart slide
Elsewhere, VfB Stuttgart suffered a third straight loss, going down 1-0 away to Hanover. Forward Didier Ya Konan bagged the winner in the 31st minute.
Elson and Stuttgart captain Thomas Hitzlsperger both struck the post in the second half, condemning the club to 14th place on the table, sitting on eight points along with three other clubs.
"We were unlucky. We are trying hard, but things are just not going our way," said Hitzlsperger post-match.
Elsewhere, Hoffenheim moved to sixth place after pulling apart Nuremberg 3-0 at home. Defender Christian Eichner scored nine minutes from the halftime break with a sweet strike from 30 meters out.
Striker Vedad Ibisevic made it two for Hoffenheim with a follow-up effort four minutes later. Young Argentine striker Franco Zuculini scored the third from a fierce shot from 20 minutes out in the 64th minute.
Mainz roar on
Mainz climbed up to seventh on the table after their 3-0 triumph at Freiburg thanks to a 24th-minute goal from Andreas Ivanschitz, and a second-half brace from defender Tim Hoogland. Freiburg dropped down to 12th after the loss.
Meanwhile, a 0-0 draw was played out when Borussia Moenchengladbach played host to fierce rivals Cologne.
It took until the final phases of the first half for any sign of life to appear in the derby, which had lacked tempo until that point.
Gladbacher Juan Arango was off target with a free kick from 25 meters nearing the 40-minute mark, while Cologne frontman Manasseh Ishiaku, who picked up a yellow card midway through the first half, fired wide after being offered a chance off a Lukas Podolski pass.
The result means Cologne moves up to 13th place, while Gladbach climb one spot above the relegation zone to 15th.
dfm/dpa/AFP
Editor: Sonia Phalnikar