Hertha Berlin fell to their third straight defeat as Hannover rose to fifth with a 2-0 win in the capital.

Jimmy Briand and Hiroshi Kiyotake scored the goals as Tayfun Korkut's men won for the third game in a row to go into the international break assured of their place in the top six of the Bundesliga.

Berlin, on the other hand, could drop into the bottom three if results elsewhere do not go their way this weekend.

Hannover began with the confidence of a side who have won their last two games with plenty of possession against timid hosts.

Leonardo Bittencourt nearly capped their good early spell of pressure in the 15th minute, but Thomas Kraft made a save at his near post with his foot.

Hertha then emerged from their shells with Salamon Kalou getting into a one-on-one situation with Ron-Robert Zieler, but Marcelo got in a saving tackle which set up Valentin Stocker, who shot into the side-netting.

Hannover took the lead just before half-time when Kiyotake sent in a corner which Briand met, having found some space in the area, and he powered his shot past Kraft.

It was an untimely blow for Hertha, whose already low confidence dropped further, allowing Hannover to take control of the game.

Kiyotake had a goal disallowed, but it was only a prelude to the Reds' second goal.

Bittencourt sent a fine ball through for Kiyotake, who skipped passed Per Skjelbred before finishing into the far corner.

That was too much for Hertha, who were unable to summon the strength to react, succumbing to a third defeat in a row and hearing their fans' disgruntlement at the final whistle.

ends