Goals either side of half time from Eugen Polanski helped Hoffenheim earn a 3-0 victory over struggling Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga this afternoon.
Hamburg went close in the 19th minute when Zoltan Stieber sought to test the keeper from range, with his shot flying just past the wrong side of the post.
They were dealt a major blow just a few moments later when goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny was sent off for a foul inside his area, allowing Polanski to fire home the penalty and give Hoffenheim the lead.
Roberto Firmino might have given Hoffenheim a two-goal advantage going into the break, but he was thwarted down at the bottom-left corner by substitute stopper Rene Adler.
Hoffenheim should have made it 2-0 after the interval, only for Sven Schipplock to guide his header wide of the top corner having done well to meet Sebastian Rudy's cross.
Schipplock was presented with another chance to make the game's ending a little less stressful only to be wasteful, leaving Markus Gisdol's men needing to defend resolutely in the closing stages.
The hosts wrapped up the three points with nine minutes left to play as Polanski returned to score his second after profiting from some neat passing from Pirmin Schwegler.
Hoffenheim added a third late on through Sebastian Rudy, who netted into the centre of goal to complete a fast counter-attacking move.
Christopher Dodd
