Energie Cottbus prevailed 1-0 at MSV Duisburg on Friday night and with the first away win of the season got a big boost in their relegation battle. ( dpa )
Albanian striker Ervin Skela scored the winner with a diving header five minutes into the match as Cottbus claimed their third win in four matches - including a stunning 2-0 victory over leaders Bayern Munich last month.
"Things are going well right now. We already showed against Munich that we can match every team in the league. Today's win was very important. The early goal helped us, but we were very lucky as well. We must now confirm this form in the next games," said Skela.
Duisburg, who had upset Werder Bremen last weekend, had several chances to get the equalizer, most notably on a freekick from Ivica Grlic in the 78th minute.
Duisburg remained in the drop zone in 16th place with 22 points, while Cottbus are now 14th with 26 points.
The other eight matches are Saturday and Sunday. Munich, who lead by seven points, host mid-table VfL Bochum, while second-placed SV Hamburg face a difficult match at holders VfB Stuttgart.