FOXNews.com: Bayern holds off Hannover to keep pressure on Dortmund

FOXNews.com FOX News Network - We Report. You Decide. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Bayern holds off Hannover to keep pressure on Dortmund Mar 24th 2012, 19:42 Munich, Germany –  Bayern Munich's good run of form continued 1 win that moves them to within two points of leaders Borussia Dortmund. Toni Kroos scored nine minutes before halftime for the hosts and Mario Gomez netted his league-leading 23rd goal of the campaign to double the advantage with just over 20 minutes remaining. Hannover hit back with a goal from Didier Ya Konan in the 74th, while Mame Biram Diouf came within inches of equalizing for the visitors when his header struck the crossbar. Arjen Robben helped set up the first tally with a back heel into the path of Kroos, who lifted his shot over goalkeeper Ron Robert Zieler and into the net. Gomez came off the bench for Bayern on the hour mark and hit the post a few minutes later before scoring his team's second goal after a pass from Kroos. Diouf's flicked header allowed Ya Konan to score on a bicycle kick from inside 10 yards, and Bayern was fortunate not to yield the equalizer when Diouf nodded the ball against the crossbar. Schalke 2, Bayer Leverkusen 0 Gelsenkirchen, Germany - Schalke climbed into third place in the Bundesliga table after a pair of goals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar handed the hosts a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen at the Veltins Arena on Saturday. Monchengladbach's 2-1 defeat against Hoffenheim coupled with Schalke's win moves the club two points clear of Gladbach in third place and in a good position to claim a Champions League place. Huntelaar netted his 21st goal of the season in the 18th minute when he headed home a cross from Christian Fuchs, while Bayer forced Schalke goalkeeper Timo Hildebrand into action a few times in the second half before Huntelaar killed off the game. With Schalke still holding on to its 1-0 lead in the final five minutes Jefferson Farfan delivered a cross to the middle of the area that Huntelaar once again got his head to, beating goalkeeper Bernd Leno to secure the win. Hoffenheim 2, Monchengladbach 1 Monchengladbach, Germany - Monchengladbach fell six points back of second- place Bayern Munich after suffering its first home defeat of the season, a 2-1 loss against Hoffenheim. A first-half goal from Marco Reus had the hosts in front, but Hoffenheim responded in the final 15 minutes by scoring two goals to win for just the second time in 12 games. Roberto Firmino's deflected shot found its way past goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to level the match, and just two minutes later, Sejad Salihovic's corner kick was headed home by Boris Vukcevic. Monchengladbach has collected one win from its last five games. Hertha Berlin 3, Mainz 1 Mainz, Germany - A pair of second-half goals from Adrian Ramos propelled Hertha Berlin to a 3-1 win at Mainz on Saturday to improve Hertha's survival hopes. The visitors had lost eight of their last nine games to cast serious doubt about their chances of avoiding the drop, but Anis Ben Hatira netted the first goal of the game for Hertha four minutes before halftime. Ramos made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute before Maxim Choupo-Moting pulled a goal back for the host in the 58th. But Ramos made sure his team left Mainz with all three points when he netted his second goal of the contest with 20 minutes to play, moving Hertha to within one point of safety. Freiburg 2, Kaiserslautern 0 Freiburg, Germany - Freiburg used two early goals at home against Kaiserslautern on Saturday to secure a 2-0 win and climb out of the bottom three. The result gives Freiburg 10 points from its last four matches and sees the club move one point clear of the bottom three, while Kaiserslautern's winless streak has reached 17 games and leaves the team seven points from safety. Krassimir Balakov was taking charge of the visitors for the first time, but he watched as Freiburg jumped out to an early lead with Karim Guede putting the hosts in front after eight minutes. The second goal came only six minutes later from a corner kick that Cedric Makiadi headed home, giving Freiburg a two-goal lead that was never in danger. Werder Bremen 1, Augsburg 1 Bremen, Germany - Augsburg claimed a valuable point in its race to avoid relegation on Saturday as Paul Verhaegh scored in stoppage time to help the visitors snatch a 1-1 draw. Bremen had lost three of its last four but was on course for the win when Niclas Fullkrug scored his first goal of the campaign just after the hour mark. However, Augsburg grabbed an unlikely equalizer in the dying moments when Verhaegh pounced on a loose ball inside the penalty area to sneak a shot over the goal line. The result keeps Augsburg out of the bottom three on goal difference.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions