Hoffenheim revival sinks stuttering Gladbach

Hoffenheim's first Bundesliga goal in more than a month saw them claim all three points and scrape by a stuttering Borussia Monchengladbach for a 1-0 win. Vedad Ibisevic scored the match winner - his first goal in more than half a year - in the 56th minute to end Hoffenheim's barren run in front of net, which had seen them go goalless since beating Wolfsburg on 17 September. The victory lifted Hoffenheim onto 16 points while Gladbach, who had started the weekend in second spot, remained on 17 points after their third game without a win. Hoffenheim had much of the play early on with Roberto Firmino's long blast sailing just wide in the 17th minute before Ibisevic, restored to the starting line-up for today's match, headed a chance straight into the arms of Gladbach keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen from seven yards out. Firmino fed a fine through ball to Ibisevic in the 34th minute, but the Bosnia and Herzegovina international, who this week reiterated his commitment to the club after being the target of Blackburn Rovers in the summer, was denied by Ter Stegen again. Gladbach were close to taking the lead a minute after the restart, but Hoffenheim keeper Daniel Haas did a superb job of stopping Patrick Herrmann's shot from seven yards out. Hoffenheim finally went ahead in the 56th minute when Ibisevic raced onto a loose ball and poked in his first goal since 9 April in his second game of the season after injury. The hosts then focused on keeping hold of their advantage and did not allow much for the Gladbach forwards to enjoy. Gladbach coach Lucien Favre tried to turn things around with two changes in the 76th minute, Joshua King and Thorben Marx coming in for Herrmann and Roman Neustadter. However, the Hoffenheim defence remained solid and compact, keeping Gladbach out of the area and playmaker Marco Reus under wraps.