Germany round-up: Dortmund seize top spot

BV Borussia Dortmund took over from Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the top of the 1. Bundesliga table with a 4-3 win against Hamburger SV today.

Hamburg thriller
Matthias Sammer’s side got the better of Hamburg in a thrilling game at the AOL Arena while morning leaders Leverkusen suffered a disastrous 1-0 defeat at 1. FC Nürnberg’s Frankenstadion.

Two red cards
Ingo Hertzsch was sent off after 34 minutes for the home side and within three minutes Dortmund were ahead when Marcio Amoroso scored from the penalty spot and went 2-0 up within two minutes as Tomáš Rosicky finished. However, the numbers were level when Christian Wörns was dismissed after 42 minutes and the home side were pulled a goal back a minute later as Raphaël Wicky equalised from the penalty spot.

Late flurry
In the second half, Amoroso restored the visitors’ two goal advantage after 64 minutes and but Hamburg pulled a goal back with nine minutes remaining through Dutch defender Nico-Jan Hoogma. Dortmund struck again in the 86th minute through Jan Koller but the scoring was not over as Erik Meijer reduced the deficit to 4-3 for Hamburg.

Leverkusen stumble
Meanwhile in Nuremberg, the home side scored the only goal of the game against UEFA Champions League semi-finalists Leverkusen through Marek Nikl after 24 minutes. The victory assures Nürnberg's place in the top flight for next season.

All to play for
With one round left to play in Germany, the result leaves Leverkusen a point adrift of Dortmund with FC Bayern München now just a point behind them after winning 1-0 at VfL Wolfsburg.

Relegation woe
There was misery for FC St. Pauli, 1. FC Köln and SC Freiburg as the day's results confirmed their relegation from the 1. Bundesliga. Köln were relegated despite their 2-0 victory over Freiburg that featured goals for Carsten Cullman and Matthias Scherz because of Nürnberg's shock win.

Lead thrown away
The inevitable came for St. Pauli when they went down 3-2 against SV Werder Bremen. St. Pauli were actually two goals up at one stage but conceded three times after the break. Torsten Frings scored twice and Marco Bode hit the other to seal St. Pauli's fate.

Hertha happy
1. FC Kaiserslautern's 4-0 win over FC Energie Cottbus kept their UEFA Cup hopes aliver for next season. Two goals apiece from Vratislav Lokvenc and Miroslav Klose set up a final day showdown with Bremen for a place in Europe. Kaiserslautern must better Bremen's final day result by two goals if they are to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Meanwhile, Hertha BSC Berlin earned a 2-0 win over FC Schalke 04.  The goals came in three second-half minutes from Michael Preetz (51) and Alex Alves (54).

Score draws
Finally today, FC Hansa Rostock were held 1-1 at home by VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach while TSV 1860 München ended up with a 3-3 draw against VfB Stuttgart.