BERLIN (AP) — Union Berlin fans brought fire to the city derby as their team consolidated second place in the Bundesliga by beating Hertha Berlin 2-0 on Saturday.
Goals either side of halftime from Danilho Doekhi and Paul Seguin earned Union its fourth consecutive league win over its old rival and left Hertha mired at second-from-last at the season’s midpoint.
The second half commenced with a spectacular pyrotechnics display from Union fans, who ignored the stadium announcer’s pleas for them to stop. Many of the supporters seemed to be delayed getting to the game – particularly those carrying flags – but they made up for their lateness after the break.
After losing both of its opening games in 2023, Hertha pushed forward more and was initially met only by stiff resistance as the game settled into a tough-tackling midfield battle.
Union started to threaten only toward the end of the first half. It was enough to seize the lead in the 44th minute when Doekhi headed in a free kick from captain Christopher Trimmel. It was the Dutch defender’s third goal in three games for Union, all set up in similar fashion by Trimmel.
Seguin scored in the 67th after the smoke cleared from the fans’ fireworks show, tapping into an empty net after Sheraldo Becker crossed to finish off a counterattack.
Union keeper Frederik Rönnow produced an outstanding save to deny Lucas Tousart a response.
Freiburg moved to fourth with a 3-1 win at home over Augsburg, Werder Bremen defeated Wolfsburg 2-1 to bounce back from two demoralizing defeats, and American defender John Brooks made his Hoffenheim debut but couldn’t prevent his new team losing at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-1.
Also, Mainz enjoyed a 5-2 win at home over Bochum.
League leader Bayern Munich hosted Eintracht Frankfurt in the late game.
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports