Germany round-up: Mönchengladbach back in form

VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach bounced back to form in the German 1. Bundesliga with a 3-0 victory against bottom club FC Energie Cottbus, while Hertha BSC Berlin overcame FC Hansa Rostock.

Poor run
Mönchengladbach, who had lost six of their last seven competitive matches, moved out of the relegation zone thanks to first-half goals from Daniel Felgenhauer, Ivo Ulich and Joris van Hout. The five-times German champions, who dominated German football in the 1970s but have been struggling since, made amends for a 5-0 beating by FC Schalke 04 on Wednesday.

Firing blanks
Cottbus, who have just one victory from 12 games, had midfield player Ronny Thielemann sent off for a second booking in the 72nd minute, and have now gone 701 minutes without scoring a goal.

Delight for Hertha
In the other Sunday game, Hertha moved up to sixth with a 3-1 victory over easterners Hansa. Goals from Belgium midfield player Bart Goor and Brazilian striker Alex Alves put the capital side 2-0 up after ten minutes. Togolese striker Bachirou Salou reduced the arrears on 15 minutes for Rostock, who dropped to 15th in the 18-strong league, before defender Arne Friedrich sealed Hertha's win in the 58th minute.