Braunschweig left on the brink

Eintracht Braunschweig's survival hopes were left hanging by a thread as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at Hertha Berlin.

Eintracht Braunschweig's Bundesliga survival hopes were left hanging by a thread as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at Hertha Berlin. Goals from John Anthony Brooks and Sami Allagui ensured victory for Berlin which consolidates their 11th place in the standings while leaving Braunschweig now certain of a finish inside the bottom three. That means the only way Torsten Lieberknecht's men can now survive is by finishing 16th and earning a play-off against the side who finish third in the 2. Bundesliga, and two wins out of two are likely to be required for that to be possible. Braunschweig knew how important a win was to keep their survival hopes alive, but they seemed more frozen with fear than eager to act. Berlin did all of the running and, although they did not create many openings, they always looked to have the upper hand. They should have made their dominance count midway through the first half when Alexander Baumjohann's low cross left Allagui a simple finish, but he somehow managed to miss the ball completely from close range. The hosts had another chance to take the lead just before the interval when Sandro Wagner set up Baumjohann, but Daniel Davari made a telling intervention. Berlin took a deserved lead on the hour mark with a corner from the right. Davari missed his punch and the ball fell out to Brooks who struck it into the top left-hand corner, past the defender on the goal line. Jos Luhukay's men doubled their lead in the 77th minute through Allagui. Davari did all he could to try to keep Braunschweig in the game, saving twice from Adrian Ramos, but the Braunschweig goalkeeper could do nothing to prevent Allagui from scoring at the third attempt.