Berlin, Oct 22 (IANS) Robin Koch's equalizer secured Freiburg one point from Berlin, and Borussia Monchengladbach cruised to a 4-0 win over Mainz to conclude the 8th round of Bundesliga on Sunday.
Freiburg snatched their second consecutive draw as dominant Hertha Berlin failed to turn their chances into a tangible reward on home soil.
The hosts grabbed a perfect start in front crowd though as Per Cilian Skjelbred's through ball into the box allowed Ondrej Duda to open the scoring with a well-placed shot into the far post corner with just seven minutes played.
Berlin gained momentum as Salomon Kalou came close with an effort from the edge of the box before Ondrej Duda tested Freiburg goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow with a hammer.
Freiburg punished wasteful hosts as Robin Koch unleashed a shot from 25 meters to restore parity against the run of the game in the 36th minute.
After the restart, both sides came out highly motivated and staged a contested second half. Berlin continued to pose more threat but lacked in penetration as Arne Maier and Vedad Ibisevic were unable to overcome Freiburg's keeper Scholow.
The visitors almost caught Pal Dardai's men flat-footed again but Berlin's custodian Rune Jarstein was on guard to deny Luca Waldschmidt's promising chance in the closing period.
Hertha thought they had a late foul-play penalty but the video assistant referee reversed the decision in the dying minutes of the game.
With the draw, Hertha Berlin missed the chance to jump on the 2nd place and instead slipped to the 6th position. Freiburg stay on the 12th spot of the standings.
Borussia Monchengladbach climbed on the runner up position after beating Mainz 4-0 by courtesy on three goals from Jonas Hofmann.
Both sides started with chances into the clash as Monchengladbach's Alassane Plea missed the ball from close range meanwhile Mainz' Jean-Philippe Mateta pulled wide from the edge of the box in the opening period.
Nevertheless, it were the hosts, who opened the scoring with 21 minutes played when Hofmann kept his composure following a pass into path from Thorgan Hazard to beat Mainz' goalkeeper Florian Mueller.
Mainz tried to respond but the hosts still produced the clear-cut chances as Hofman came close twice before the half time.
Hofman remained in the thick of things as he doubled the lead after tapping home Hazard's second assist of the night eight minutes into the second half.
The hosts continued on the front foot and Thorgan Hazard got his name on the scoreboards as well after finishing a counter attack successfully in the 58th minute.
The "Foals" showed no mercy as Hofmann wrapped up his hat rick after rounding goalie Florian Mueller to put the result beyond doubt into the open goal with 63 minutes into the game.
With the second win in a row, Monchengladbach move to the second place. Mainz slump to the 12th position.
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