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VfB Stuttgart's coach delighted by `thankless' victory

VfB Stuttgart coach Armin Veh was delighted by his side's "thankless" 1-0 victory at bottom-side Borussia Moenchengladbach which took them up to second and in sight of the Champions League.

Midfielder Roberto Hilbert's 53rd minute goal was enough to give Stuttgart the three points which allowed them to leapfrog Werder Bremen.

"That was a thankless win," Veh said. "Playing the league's bottom side really puts you under pressure and you feel the expectation to get three points."

Stuttgart's win means Bayern Munich are now virtually sure to miss out on a Champions League place next season after they lost 2-1 at home to Hamburg.

Bayern's Peruvian Claudio Pizarro gave the home side the lead after 35 minutes, but Hamburg's Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, who is being courted by Bayern, cancelled out the advantage with a 71st minute goal.

And Hamburg's Jose Paolo Guerrero grabbed the 76th-minute winner.

The defeat leaves Bayern in fourth, seven points behind third-placed Bremen with three games left.

Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said: "The disappointment is huge. We didn't work hard enough and we were not firm enough in attack, while in midfield we lost too many personal battles."

Hertha Berlin trounced hosts Alemannia Aachen 4-0 to go seventh in the league with Brazilian midfielder Gilberto opening the scoring after just seven minutes.

Christian Gimenez grabbed a second three minutes after the break to make it 2-0, before Marko Pantelic and Yildiray Basturk grabbed two late goals.

VfL Wolfsburg drew 1-1 at Nuremberg after Jacek Krzynowek slotted home a left-footed shot after a 40m run on 18 minutes for the visitors.

But the home side leveled five minutes later when Andreas Wolf headed them on level terms.

Hanover midfielder Arnold Jan Bruggink's scored their opening goal in their 2-1 win at second-from-bottom Mainz 05.

Chavdar Yankov extended their lead with a right-footed shot from a 50th minute corner before Mainz's Egyptian international Mohamed Zidan grabbed a late consolation goal.

Borussia Dortmund moved away from the relegation dog-fight after a 2-0 home win against Eintracht Frankfurt.
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