Hertha Berlin have climbed out of the Bundesliga relegation zone with a 2-0 victory over Mainz 05 in a match which saw both sides lose a player to a red card.
Mainz controlled the game at the Coface Arena for much of the early stages, but the first opportunity of the afternoon fell to Hertha's Julian Schieber, who fired just wide after being played through by Valentin Stocker.
Hertha were gifted the advantage in the 32nd minute as Loris Karius sprinted off to bring down Stocker in the box, and a red card followed.
Stefanos Kapino was sent on to make his debut for Mainz, but the Greek goalkeeper was unable to keep out an emphatic penalty from Jens Hegeler.
Mainz were rocked by the dismissal of Karius, and their failure to recover quickly allowed Hertha to double their lead through Roy Beerens, who tapped home the rebound after Kapino had denied Stocker.
The hosts were forced to tighten up to avoid inviting more pressure in the second half, but they were handed a lifeline when Fabian Lustenberger picked up a second yellow card for a late tackle on Daniel Brosinski.
Despite losing the numerical advantage, Hertha continued to look comfortable as the visiting defence restricted the chances on offer.
Mainz's best chance fell to Pierre Bengtsson, but he could only hit a tame effort straight at Thomas Kraft from a promising position as Hertha secured a crucial win.
Callum Mulvihill
