Stuttgart defeat Hertha Berlin 1-0

Stuttgart:

Stuttgart beat Hertha Berlin 1-0 on Sunday to end their four-game winless streak and inflict Hertha's first defeat in 12 matches. Stuttgart moved to fifth on the table with 38 points, along with fourth-place Bayer Leverkusen, who beat Nuremberg 4-2. Stuttgart hit what turned out to be the winner after 10 minutes following a superb goal by Cacau, his ninth of the season. Hertha tried to respond. When they did get the ball in the back of the net, officialdom intervened. An effort was ruled out after a foul on Timo Hildebrand, Stuttgart's goalkeeper. The visitors then missed several good opportunities in the second half. One attempt saw a header from Niko Kovac cleared off the line by Martin Stranzl. But it ended 1-0 and Stuttgart rise to fifth in the table with 38 points. Hertha fell to seventh place with 36 points, behind Hamburg (37), who beat Kaiserslautern 2-1 on Saturday. (AP)