Two goals on either side of the half from Vladimir Darida and Salomon Kalou were enough for Hertha BSC's 2-0 victory over Mainz 05 which extends the capital clubs unbeaten streak in all competitions to four and confirms their spot in the top three come the end of 2015. For the visitors, this ended their run of matches without dropping all three points to six and finishing in eighth to end the first half of the Bundesliga season.
It took a while for either side to really get going in the final third of the pitch but Hertha looked like they had more about them whipping in cross after cross into the area although Mainz were able to clear them away. On 16 minutes, John Anthony Brooks had the first opportunity following a corner only to watch his header blaze over the top of the cross bar.
Pressure builds for Hertha in final third
In the 24th minute, Vedad Ibisevic put a foot on the end of a cross from Marvin Plattenhardt that hit the side netting but are showing signs of getting better balls inside the 18 yard box.
There was finally a goal and it came four minutes after the half hour mark. Darida received a pass from Ibisevic and touch a neat touch that fooled Niko Bungert and opened up enough space for the Czech to fire his shot in behind Karius.
Hard-working Ibisevic plays pivotal role in second goal
Hertha scored a second goal, the decisive blow, Ibisevic was a vital part of the buildup in the second Hertha goal as he played a lovely ball slightly ahead of number 26 again and Salomon Kalou buried his effort into the bottom right corner of the goal, which is his ninth of the season.
Mainz' first chance of the match came in the 57th minute but it was rather poor. Off of a free kick, Stefan Bell managed to get a head on the ball but it deflected straight up into the air that Rune Jarstein was able to catch with some ease.
After a long spell when neither side did much in the final third of the pitch, Hertha nearly had a third goal in this match when Genki Haraguchi delivered in a wonderful cross from the left that Ibisevic turned into the back of the net eight minutes before full time. However, the Bosnian found himself mere inches ahead of Mainz's defense and the assistant referee flagged him for offside.
Pablo de Blasis finally had a decent look at goal for his club, with only two minutes remaining, but his weak shot hit the side netting and gave the ball back to Hertha for a goal kick. A minute later, Haraguchi again plays Ibisevic inside the box and at first attempt, the latter slipped and as he got back up he attempted a backheeled shot that was stopped by Karius. de Blasis then hit an audacious attempt from more than 30 yards away only to see his effort dip and hit the top of the cross bar in the last few seconds of normal time.
When Bundesliga action resumes in a months' time, the blue and white stripes will be playing hosts to mid-table Augsburg while Mainz travel to Ingolstadt.