Florian Niederlechner (down) of Augsburg lies on the pitch due to injury during the German Bundesliga match against Hertha in Augsburg, Germany, on Nov. 24, 2019. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
BERLIN, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Augsburg wrapped up their second straight win after beating ten-men Hertha Berlin 4-0 and ten-men Mainz returned to winning ways after defeating Hoffenheim 5-1 at the closer of the 12th round in Bundesliga on Sunday.
Both teams staged a cautious start and focused on their defence meaning that goalscoring opportunities were at premium in the opening period.
The game eventually came to life with 17 minutes played as Philipp Max' untouched long-range free kick found the back of the net to break the deadlock.
Augsburg increased the pressure and were rewarded with 10 minutes later when Sergio Cordova benefitted on a moment of madness from Hertha goalkeeper Rune Jarstein. To make things worse, Jarstein saw a straight red card after a rude foul play to Cordova.
The hosts dominated and thought they had tripled the lead before the break but Florian Niederlechner's goal was ruled offside.
After the restart, Augsburg remained on the front foot and sealed the deal when substitute Andre Hahn had all the time and space needed to slot home from 18 meters into the bottom left corner in 52nd minute.
Ten-men Berlin were unable to pose any threat meanwhile Augsburg were not done with the scoring as Niederlechner rounded off the victory with a well-placed shot from sharp angle with 72 minutes played.
With the win, Augsburg move away from relegation zone and sit on the 12th position. Meanwhile, 15th placed Hertha Berlin sit in touching distance to the bottom three.
Elsewhere, Mainz recorded a hammering 5-1 victory over Hoffenheim to climb out of the Bundesliga bottom at the debut of new head coach Achim Beierlozer.
Hoffenheim grabbed the better start into the game but for all that it were Mainz who scored at the other end of the pitch against the run of the game as Karim Onisiwo allowed Levin Oztunali to mark the opener form the edge of the box in the 33rd minute.
However, just when Mainz gained complete control of the game they suffered a setback as Ridle Baku received his marching orders for a rude foul play before the break.
Hoffenheim tried to respond after the half time and they had a promising chance to restore parity but Jurgen Locadia were only able to rattle the woodwork following Robert Skov's cross in the 50th minute.
The goals were once again scored at the other end of the pitch though, and with the helping hand of Hoffenheim as Pavel Kaderabek inadvertently headed Jeremiah St. Juste's cross into the wrong goal to double the lead for Mainz seven minutes into the second half.
Hoffenheim were able to threaten Mainz' defence, but the "Nullfunfer" staged a clinical chance conversion as Jean-Paul Boetius' pass into path allowed Malong Kunde to triple the lead at the hour mark.
The hosts pressed frenetically for a goal and they were rewarded in the closing period when Andrej Kramaric slotted home right footed from inside the box to make it 3-1 on the scoreboards.
Mainz remained unfazed by Hoffenheim's goal and added another two goals in the closing stages as Boetius and Kunde wrapped all three points.
With the result, Mainz jumped on the 13th position whereas Hoffenheim slumped to the 8th place.
