BERLIN: Forward Nic­las Fuellkrug scored a hat-trick to earn hosts Borussia Dortmund a 3-1 victory over VfL Bochum in their Ruhr valley derby on Sunday and lift them into the top four with their third straight league win this year.

Germany striker Fuell­krug opened the scoring from the spot just six minutes in but Bochum equalised late in the first half thanks to an own goal from Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck.

Fuellkrug headed Dort­mund back into the lead midway through the second period, before adding another from the spot in injury time.

The result moves Dortmund into fourth place on 36 points, leaving RB Leipzig in fifth on 33. Dortmund are just one point behind third-placed VfB Stuttgart.

Marie Louise-Eta, a female member of the coaching staff at Union Berlin, played a new role as the team claimed a 1-0 home win over rock-bottom Darmstadt, lifting them five points clear of the relegation play-off place.

Union played with head coach Nenad Bjelica watching from the stands due to a three-match suspension for pushing Leroy Sane in the face during Wednesday’s 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich.

Eta was in the dug-out working alongside interim coach Danijel Jumic, and took charge of pre-game and post-match media duties in place of Bjelica.

Benedict Hollerbach made the difference for the home side, controlling an Andras Schaefer pass and shooting through the legs of ’keeper Marcel Schuhen to open the scoring after 62 minutes.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2024