Hertha point the way forward

ES Troyes Aube Champagne 1-1 RC Lens

Having suffered their heaviest defeat of the season when going down 4-0 at Steaua, Lens recovered to record their seventh successive draw in Ligue 1 against Troyes on Sunday. Striker Daniel Cousin had an eventful game, first opening the scoring in the 20th minute following a 60-metre assist from Benoît Assou-Ekotto. He missed a penalty on 55 minutes, saw Frédéric Adam equalise on 72 before being shown a second yellow card ten minutes later.

Midfielder Seydou Keita was rested because of injury, while defender Nicolas Gillet and midfielders Eric Carrière and Olivier Thomert started on the bench. Captain Jérôme Leroy said: "Complacency sunk us. I doubt we even deserved the point we took." Lens are also in action on Wednesday when they tackle AJ Auxerre in the French League Cup round of 32.

Kalmar FF 2-0 Halmstads BK

A disappointing 2005 season for Halmstad ended on Sunday as they lost 2-0 at Kalmar. Patrik Rosengren scored early in the first half and Anatoli Ponomarev late in the second to condemn the visitors to a 12th defeat in 26 games - and tenth place in the 14-team Allsvenskan.

Coach Jan Andersson said: "Apart from the first ten minutes we played pretty well against a side that finished third in the table. We should have got a point but it didn't quite work out for us. Overall the season has been a bit disappointing but I'm pleased we managed to turn the tide after the summer. Qualification for the UEFA Cup group stage was also a great bonus." The Swedish club have no injury concerns.

UC Sampdoria 3-3 AC Siena

Sergio Volpi converted an added-time penalty to earn Sampdoria a share of the spoils following a thriller at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. A point was deserved for Samp, who had taken the lead in the 38th minute from the spot, Francesco Flachi scoring after strike partner Emiliano Bonazzoli had been upended. Tomas Locatelli drew Siena level before Volpi's free-kick took enough of a deflection off the wall to find its way into the visitors' net.

The game then turned as former Sampdoria players Enrico Chiesa and Simone Vergassola registered for Siena before Flachi's protests earned him a red card. With five minutes of added time gone, Walter Novellino's men drew level as Volpi made no mistake with his penalty. Novellino, who handed defender Giulio Falcone a first start of the season following his recovery from a serious knee injury, said: "We need to improve because we are conceding too many goals. We played very well but we have to be more careful in defence if we want our results to improve."

AFC Rapid Bucuresti 0-0 FC Steaua Bucuresti

The final derby of the year featuring two of the capital's three leading teams (FC Dinamo Bucuresti complete the trio) ended in stalemate on Sunday, although Steaua were the happier side having had midfielder Banel Nicolita dismissed in the 31st minute for striking Rapid's Daniel Niculae. That moment summed up a tense match which referee Alexandru Tudor twice threatened to postpone because of objects thrown on to the pitch from the stands.

On each occasion, the game was interrupted for several minutes, ensuring further tension as nine minutes of added time were played. With Steaua captain Mirel Radoi off the field with an ankle injury sustained in a challenge with Rapid defender Ionut Rada, the hosts were able to press late on, but failed to convert their chances into goals. Despite seeing his team slip off the summit for the first time in seven rounds, Oleg Protasov was satisfied. "This was perhaps the most difficult match I've had since I became Steaua coach. Only the players know how difficult this week was, with two away games in the championship and one UEFA Cup tie. I congratulate them all."

Hertha BSC Berlin 3-1 1. FSV Mainz 05

Falko Götz went into Saturday's game without Kevin-Prince Boateng (hip), Christian Müller (broken leg), Niko Kovač (thigh) and Gilberto (ankle), but got off to a perfect start when Marcelinho broke the deadlock with a sixth-minute free-kick. The Brazilian midfielder doubled the advantage after 34 minutes, before Marko Pantelić made it 3-0.

Manuel Friedrich soon reduced the deficit but a comeback never looked likely as Hertha claimed three points to climb to sixth in the Bundesliga. "Some of my players proved their individual class today," said Götz. "I don't normally single out players but today I would like to do so. Christian Fiedler was great in goal and Marcelinho was also excellent. He worked extremely hard and was rewarded with two goals."