BERLIN (AP):Schalke lost further ground to leaders Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga race after being held to a 0-0 draw at relegation-threatened Augsburg yesterday.

Mainz took full advantage with a 3-0 win at bottom side Greuther Fuerth to move fifth, one point above Schalke, whose coach Jens Keller is coming under increasing pressure.

Elsewhere, Borussia Moenchen-gladbach stretched their unbeaten run to nine games across all competitions with a 2-1 win at home over local rivals Fortuna Duesseldorf.

Hannover beat Wolfsburg 2-1 in another local derby, despite playing most of the game with 10 men after Sebastien Pocognoli was sent off on his Bundesliga debut.

Eintracht Frankfurt consolidated fourth place with a 2-1 win at home over troubled Hoffenheim, which slipped into the relegation zone.

thanks to tim wiese

Hoffenheim, who sent experienced defender Marvin Compper to train with their youth team during the week, had Tim Wiese to thank for two important saves early on, when Frankfurt also hit the post and had a goal ruled out.

Martin Lanig lifted the ball over Wiese to score in the 35th, after Takashi Inui sprung the offside trap.

Kevin Volland equalised in the 65th, but Stefan Aigner restored Frankfurt's lead three minutes later after Wiese failed to deal with a corner.

Moenchengladbach endured a shaky start to the season but appears to have found stability at last. Lucian Favre's side got off to a great start in the sixth minute when Fortuna defender Juanan was unfortunate to deflect Oscar Wendt's cross into his own goal, and Luuk de Jong crossed for Patrick Herrmann to make it 2-0 eight minutes later.

Dani Schahin pulled one back from the penalty spot in the 50th, when De Jong was adjudged to have handled the ball, but the visitors were unable to capitalise on their improvement from the first half.

In Hannover, striker Mohammed Abdellaoue opened the scoring in the third, when he beat Simon Kjaer on the right, advanced and then curled a delightful effort inside the far post.