体坛英语新闻：Monchengladbach win, Hoffenheim held in German Bundesliga

BERLIN, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Monchengladbach return to winning ways after beating newly promoted Hannover 1-0 meanwhile Freiburg held Hoffenheim to a 1-1 draw at the 24th round in Bundesliga on Saturday.

Borussia Monchengladbach ended their four-game losing streak after Christoph Kramer's second-half winner secured all three points against Hannover, who suffered their eighth loss of the season.

The "Foals' started highly motivated and assumed control from the kick off as Lars Stindl and Thorgan Hazard came close in the opening period.

As the match progressed, Hannover gained a foothold into the game but neither Salif Sane nor Ihlas Bebou were able to beat Monchengladbach's well-positioned defence for the opener.

After the restart, Hannover almost broke the deadlock but unmarked Bebou squandered a golden chance from very close range by header with 52 minutes into the encounter.

The game turned into a lively encounter with chances at both ends of the pitch as Jonas Hofmann rattled the bar only ten minutes later before Kramer tested Hannover goalkeeper Philipp Tschauner from close range.

However, Tschauner was hapless moments later after Kramer controlled Stindl's pass and volleyed home from the edge of the box into the top left corner to mark the opener in the 72nd minute.

Kramer ended Monchengladbach's 431-minute goal drought to secure all three points on the road as Dieter Hecking's men held firm to wrap up the 10th win of the season.

With the result, Monchengladbach jumped on the 7th place whereas Hannover slipped to the 9th position.

Hoffenheim and Freiburg shared the spoils as Nils Petersen's late penalty sealed the share of the spoils.

The hosts controlled the proceedings in the first half as Freiburg's defence had problems to keep Serge Gnabry on the distance.

It was also the Bayern Munich loanee, who produced the best chance of the first half but his solo run and build-up work got misspend by Dennis Geiger, who pulled wide from promising position.

Hoffenheim remained on the front foot after the half time and their efforts got rewarded with 57 minutes as Andrej Kramaric curled a free kick from 25 meters over the wall into the top right corner to make it 1-0 on the scoreboards.

Freiburg did not pose any threat but Hoffenheim invited the visitors to level the scores after Kevin Vogt felled Petersen inside the box, allowing the striker to slot home from the penalty spot in the 66th minute.

Hoffenheim pressed for the winner but Freiburg defended well and reaped a 1-1 draw on the road.

Despite the draw, Hoffenheim climb on the 8th place meanwhile Freiburg slipped to the 13th position of the standings.

Elsewhere, Hertha Berlin ended Bayern Munich's ten-game winning streak following a goalless ninety minutes. The front-runners stay atop the standings with a 20-point advantage.

Newly promoted Stuttgart shocked in-form Eintracht Frankfurt as Erik Thommy's sole goal of the game was enough to snatch a 1-0 victory and Werder Bremen edged rivals Hamburg 1-0 to sew up three vital points in the relegation battle.

The following fixtures are scheduled for Sunday: Bayer Leverkusen host Schalke and Leipzig see last placed Cologne.