22 October 2007, by Lorna Danion

Almeida strikes again as Bremen go second

Werder Bremen 3-2 Hertha Berlin

Hugo Almeida was on the scoresheet as Werder Bremen moved into second place in the Bundesliga with a third successive victory against Hertha Berlin at the Weserstadion.

A scoreless first half exploded into life when Almeida gave his side the lead just before the hour with the first of three goals in four minutes, and Bremen ultimately went on to claim a well-deserved victory.

The first half was a forgettable affair, as neither side truly threatened to break the deadlock. The best opportunity of the half saw the visitors create a chance for Gilberto on the break, but the Brazilian failed to convert.

Bremen upped the tempo after the interval and chances soon began to appear, with Fritz curling wide from inside the area and Diego cracking the crossbar in the opening five minutes of the second period.

Diego-Almeida combination

The hosts took the lead in the 57th minute through Portuguese international Almeida, who scored the club’s 2,500th goal in their Bundesliga history. A rapid break saw Brazilian playmaker Diego bend a superb ball towards Almeida down the left channel, with the former Porto forward showing good pace to sprint clear of the Hertha defence and smash a left-footed shot past Drobny for his 5th goal of the season.

The joy lasted around four minutes, however, as Brazilian international winger Gilberto raced onto Ebert’s throughball to lift his finish over the onrushing Tim Weise and draw Hertha level in the 61st minute.

Hertha’s elation would be even more short-lived, though, as Almeida again proved decisive in Bremen re-raking the lead immediately. The big front man eventually nodded Diego’s long ball into the path of substitute Markus Rosenberg, who smashed his finish inside the near post.

Bremen remained positive and put the game beyond their opponents with around fifteen minutes remaining. Again Diego was involved in a move that finished with Frings finding Andreasen, who resisted the challenge from his marker and rifled past Drobny.

The visitors registered a late consolation through Solomon Okoronkwo’s fine individual strike, but Bremen had done enough to extend their unbeaten run to five matches and register their intention to be the main challengers to runaway leaders Bayern Munich.

Werder Bremen:
Weise, Pasanen, Naldo, Metesacker, Fritz, Borowski (Andreasen, 68), Frings (Baumann, 82), Jensen, Diego, Sanogo (Rosenberg, 58), Almeida
Yellow Cards: Borowski, Fritz

Hertha Berlin:
Drobny, Friedrich, Simunic, von Bergen, Chahed, Fathi, Ebert, Gilberto, Dardai (Piszczek, 74), Grahn (Mineiro, 85), Pantelic (Okoronkwo, 59)
Yellow Cards: Fathi, Grahn

Goals:
[1-0] Almeida, 57
[1-1] Gilberto, 61
[2-1] Rosenberg, 62
[3-1] Andreasen, 74
[2-3] Okoronkwo, 90