22 December 2009 / REUTERS, BERLIN
Ten-man Hamburg SV moved to within four points of the top at the start of the winter break with a 2-1 victory over northern rivals Werder Bremen on Sunday.
Hamburg’s Joris Mathijsen grabbed the lead on nine minutes on a freezing day and Marcell Jansen made it 2-0 in the 36th four minutes after Jerome Boateng was sent off for a foul on Marko Marin. Naldo pulled one back for Bremen in stoppage time. The win lifted Hamburg into fourth place on 31 points with Bayer Leverkusen ending the first half of the season as leader with 35. Bremen is sixth on 28. Schalke 04 stayed in second, a point off the pace while Bayern Munich crushed Hertha Berlin 5-2 on Saturday to remain in third on 33. The season resumes on Jan. 15. “This is a fantastic result for us,” Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia told reporters.