体坛英语新闻：Stuttgart, Mainz stage goal festival at German Bundesliga

BERLIN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Stuttgart humbled bottom team Freiburg 4-1, Mainz crushed relegation threatened Kaiserslautern 4-0, and Berlin Hertha suffered three goals at second half against Augsburg on Saturday in the 23rd round of German Bundesliga.

The clinical Stuttgart owed a brace by Austrian international and "Schwaben" striker Martin Harnik at the southern derby against bottom team Freiburg that staged a dedicated but unlucky performance.

Stuttgart extended the lead to 2-0 within 21 minutes owing to goals by Harnik at the 12th minute and striking mate Shinji Okazaki at the 21st minute.

Freiburg remained unimpressed and was able to shorten the score to 1-2 as defender Diagne Fallou headed home a corner cross at the 27th minute.

After break, Freiburg kept it bowling, nonetheless they suffered the 3-1 score as Stuttgart defender Khalid Boulahrouz deflected a prolonged corner into the goal with 63 minutes into the match.

Freiburg remained shocked and had to watch as Harnik sealed his brace and the final 4-1 score at the 82nd minute.

With the defeat, Freiburg sticks on 18th position of the standings with only 18 points out of 23 matches, while Stuttgart climbs from the ninth to eighth position with 29 points.

Mainz prevails over Kaiserslautern following a hammering 4-0 win at outsold Coface Arena, starting offensively minded to flabbergast Kaiserslautern with three fast goals within 30 minutes on the clock.

Only two minutes into the match, Mainz striker Mohamed Zidan opened the scoring following the 2-0 lead by striker Adam Szalai at the 17th minute and midfielder Nicolai Mueller tripled the lead for his side at the 30th minute thanks a non existent Kaiserslautern defense.

After interval, Mainz retracted but still were able to score the final 4-0 score through striker Eric Maxim Choupo Moting.

With Saturday's match, Kaiserslautern lost four straight matches to remain winless in 13 matches.

Mainz improves from the 13th to 10th position with 27 points while Kaiserslautern slips to the 17th position, a relegation spot, with only 18 points.

Hoffenheim wrapped a late win against Wolfsburg thanks to striker Sven Schipplock who scored the 2-1 decider at Volkswagen Arena.

Two minutes after kick off, Hoffenheim opened the scoring against drowsy "Wolves" as midfielder Roberto Firmino poked home from very close range.

Hoffenheim had better opportunities, but it was Wolfsburg that tied the score at the 69th minute as striker Patrick Helmes converted a penalty into bottom left to stun the guests.

Hoffenheim pressed frantically thus they were rewarded with the decider at the 84th minute through joker striker Sven Schipplock who utilized a pass into path to shock the "Wolves" before final whistle.

Wolfsburg slipped from the eighth to 12th position with 27 points, while Hoffenheim climbs from 10th to 9th position with 29 points.

"We have sealed a deserved win today. We had so many opportunities unfortunately we have not exploited them. Anyway, we have rewarded us for the hard work," Hoffenheim coach Markus Babbel said.

Bottom team Augsburg astonished struggling Berlin with three goals at second half to inflict them the 12th straight winless match. Augsburg striker Torsten Oehrl smoothed the way for the victory with two goals in two minutes, one at the 61st and one at the 63rd minute.

Berlin remained shocked and watched by as midfielder joker Marcel Ndjeng sealed the deal with the final 3-0 score at injury time to surprise struggling Berlin and new coach Otto Rehhagel.

"The second half was a disaster with that performance we will relegate into second division," Berlin team captain Andre Mijatovic said.

"Augsburg has struggled while some of us have not grasped that we are stuck in a relegation battle," veteran coach Rehhagel said.

Berlin slips from 15th on 16th position, a relegation spot, with 20 points while Augsburg jumps from 17th to 15th position with 21 points.

Leverkusen defeated Cologne at the Rhenish derby owing a brace by youngster midfielder Lars Bender who sealed the win for his side with goals at the 16th and 51st minute.

Cologne resides on the 14th position with 24 points, whilst Leverkusen climbs from the sixth to fifth position with 37 points.

Nuremberg inflicts Bremen a surprising 1-0 loss at Weserstadium thanks to the decider by youngster striker Alexander Esswein to ensure Bremen's first loss at the second half of the campaign.

Bremen pressed from the start against the 12th positioned Nuremberg but it were the guests who opened the scoring after a deflected pass so that Esswein was able to slot home unmarked from goal area to wrap the win.

Bremen frantically pressed for the equalizer but they remained unlucky until the final whistle.

After the game, Bremen slips from the fifth to sixth position with 36 points whereas Nuremberg jumps from the 12th to 10th position.