Hamburg - SV Hamburg came from behind to beat crisis-club Hertha Berlin 3-1 Sunday to move level on points with leaders Bayer Leverkusen at the top of the German Bundesliga. Hertha, under new coach Friedhelm Funkel, took a ninth-minute lead when captain Arne Friedrich headed in unmarked from a corner.
Friedrich raced the length of Berlin's Olympic Stadium to celebrate in a show of solidarity with fans behind the opposite goal.
But Hertha joy was soon dashed when Hamburg hit back with three goals before half-time in a mixture of misfortune and farcical defending.
The equalizer in the 24th minute came from a hopeful long ball from Jerome Boateng which Hertha's Brazilian defender Kaka neatly headed over goalkeeper Timo Ochs into his own net.
Hertha, who were without injured first-choice keeper Jaroslav Drobny, then lost Ochs to a muscle injury and brought on third-choice youngster Sascha Burchert.
The 19-year-old, in only his third Bundesliga game, was on the pitch only five minutes when he raced out of his area to head clear in the 38th minute, only for the ball to fall to David Jarolim who promptly lobbed the ball into an empty net from some 30 metres out.
Two minutes later, in almost a repeat scene, Burchert again raced well out of his area to head a through ball clear. This time Ze Roberto picked up the clearance from inside the centre circle to curl the ball back into the empty net.
"I don't think I have ever experienced three such curious goals in a game," Funkel said.
"There were some good signs from the team. Of course there is a bit of uncertainty in the side which you saw with the first goal. The two other goals were simply unlucky."
Friedrich said: "We started well and took the lead but then conceded three incredible goals, the sort of goals you only concede when you are already at the bottom."
Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia said: "The goals were extraordinary. The goalkeeper didn't even make a mistake - he had to react quickly by coming out."
The win leaves Hamburg second, level on 20 points with Bayer Leverkusen, who were 4-0 winners over Nuremberg on Saturday.
The two teams, who meet in two weeks after the international break, have a four-point lead over Schalke who defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 on Friday.
Hertha remain rooted to the bottom on three points after a seventh successive defeat.
Werder Bremen meanwhile climbed into the top four on 15 points with a comfortable 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart.
Claudio Pizarro gave Bremen an early lead when he headed in a Marko Marin cross at the far post in the third minute.
Any hopes Stuttgart had at half-time of levelling were dashed six minutes after the break when Mesut Ozil sliced open the Stuttgart defence with a pass to Aaron Hunt who steered the ball past Jens Lehmann in goal.
Bremen move fourth on 15 points, five behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburg, while Stuttgart remain stuck in the lower half of the table.
"We have taken another step forward," Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf said.
"We were concentrated from the first second. We were fortunate in getting the early goal which gave us the self-confidence which showed throughout the game."
On Saturday, Bayern Munich were held to a goalless draw by visiting Cologne, Mainz beat Hoffenheim 2-1, Borussia Dortmund earned a 1-0 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach, Hanover defeated Freiburg 5-2, and Bochum and Wolfsburg finished 1-1.
