Jordan Pefok was on target for Union Berlin as they came out top over Hertha Berlin while a division down Terrence Boyd scored a goal and assisted on another for Kaiserslautern in their win over St. Pauli.
Union Berlin 3-1 Hertha Berlin
Union Berlin showed their dominance in the first capital derby of the new season as they came away with a comfortable win over their rivals Hertha at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei.
Jordan Pefok had a good outing for the Iron Ones in his first official game, winning nine duels and taking three shots in his 78 minutes on the field.
The hosts were on the attack from the start and came very close to opening the scoring when Julian Ryerson’s long-range shot forced Hertha goalkeeper Oliver Christensen to make a diving save to clear away the danger.
However, he could not stop Pefok from grabbing his first goal of the season in the 31st minute. Sheraldo Becker’s cross from the left side found the American striker in the area and his glancing header to the far post caught Christensen completely off guard.
Union kept the momentum going into the second half as Pefok had an excellent chance to score his second on the day as he and Becker teamed up again. His head was on target, but Christensen this time was able to keep it out.
Then Becker doubled the hosts’ lead in the 50th minute when Janik Haberer played the ball over the top to the Surinamese international who slotted it home.
Union added a third in the 54th minute when Robin Knoche headed in a corner kick from Christopher Trimmel, but it was initially disallowed due to an offside call. It was reversed after a review from the video assistant referee after it was determined there was no infraction.
Hertha grabbed a consolation goal in the 85th minute from Dodi Lukebakio as they were clearly outclassed by their city rivals on the day.
Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 Hoffenheim
Borussia Monchengladbach had a dominant second half as they earned their first win of the season over Hoffenheim at Borussia Park.
Joe Scally played 84 minutes, completing 86 percent of his passes and winning four duels along with two shots.
Things got off to a scrappy start in the opening minutes when there were a few questionable fouls committed by Hoffenheim. The referee finally had enough and sent Stefan Posch for an early shower when he showed him a red card in the 19th minute for his second offense in the game.
The sending off did not deter the visitors as they opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Robert Skov put the ball in the back of the net.
The hosts then went on the attack to level the score and they did so in the 42nd minute when Ko Itakura’s header from a corner kick found Rami Bensebaini whose overhead kick beat Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann.
‘Gladbach took the lead in the 71st minute when Marcus Thuram ran onto a pass from Alassane Plea to knock past Baumann. Nico Elvedi extended their lead seven minutes later when Plea floated the ball into the area and the Swiss international did well to control and fire it past Baumann.
Kaiserslautern 2-1 St. Pauli
Terence Boyd scored a goal and added an assist as Kaiserslautern held on for the win over St. Pauli at the Fritz Walter Stadion.
Boyd was the star man on the day for the Red Devils as he played 89 minutes and won six duels along with four shots.
The hosts opened the scoring just nine minutes into the contest when Eric Durm’s cross from the right side found the American in the area to head home.
Boyd had an excellent chance to score a second goal in the 64th minute when his teammate Jean Zimmer battled his way through the area to send the ball into the path of the striker, but his shot came off the woodwork.
The former U.S. international made up for his missed effort in the 86th minute when he played the ball to Kenny Redondo to slam home.
St. Pauli cut the deficit in the 88th minute with a strike from Jakov Medic, but it was too little, too late as Kaiserslautern claimed all three points.
Kaiserslautern sits in second place in the 2. Bundesliga standings with seven points from three games.
Notes
In other action from the Bundesliga, Ricardo Pepi came on to play the final 15 minutes while Maurice Malone remained on the bench as Augsburg was thrashed by Freiburg by a 4-0 scoreline.
Timothy Chandler was fortunate that he stayed on the bench as Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt had nothing to offer against defending Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in a 6-1 mauling.
Giovanni Reyna made it to the bench but saw no action as Borussia Dortmund recorded their first win of the season with a 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
In the 2. Bundesliga, Timothy Tillman played 67 minutes while Julian Green went 82 minutes as Greuthe Furth played out a 1- draw with Karlsruhe.
Lennard Maloney played 65 minutes as Heidenheim fell to Hamburg in a 1-0 defeat.
Ryan Malone went the distance while George Bello played the final 18 minutes as Hana Rostock was victorious in their 2-1 win over Arminia Bielefeld.
Nicolas Carrera was on the bench as Holstein Kiel came away with the 2-1 win over Magdeburg.
Down in the 3. Liga, Mael Corboz scored a dramatic stoppage-time goal to steal a point for Verl in their 2-2 draw with Waldhof Mannheim.
Kevin Lankford played 63 minutes for Viktoria Koln in their 1-0 win over Wehen Wiesbaden.
Isaiah Young played the full 90 as Rot-Weiss Essen staged a comeback to share the points with Duisburg following a 2-2 draw.
Both Justin Butler and Jalen Hawkins came off the bench for Ingolstadt in their convincing 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund.
