Hamburg hosted Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga looking to move back to one point behind Freiburg in the battle for sixth.
In a first half of very few chances, Hamburg took the lead with the last kick as Heiko Westermann headed in a deep Rafael van der Vaart free kick.
The hosts started to control the game but Wolfsburg levelled against the run of play with substitute Ivan Perisic planting a cross on to Makoto Hasebe's head.
Neither side could find the winner and Hamburg's chances of European qualification now look slim with just two games left to play.
That could be the end of Hamburg's European chances. They need top five, but are now three behind Freiburg with a far worse goal-difference. That's all from me - thanks for joining me and goodnight!
FULL-TIME: Hamburg 1-1 Wolfsburg
Son is the latest player to be thrwarted by Benaglio, who pushes the shot wide and then claims the corner hugely.
BOOKING: Perisic is booked, also for a high foot. Van der Vaart was holding his face, but the boot wasn't that high..
Hasebe cuts out a pass and tries to launch a break, but Diego too loses out. Hamburg come back and Son looks to toe-poke through to Ilicevic, but it just cannot get through the eye of the needle. At the other end Perisic, somewhat selfishly, tries to cut in and shoot but adeflection makes it easy for Drobny.
BOOKING: A decent chance now for Hamburg up the other end as Westermann finds himself forward, but he delays his pass to Rudnevs and the striker had drifted offside. Three minutes of time have been indicated as Diekmeier is booked for a high boot.
HAMBURG SUB: Perisic reacts quickest to a loose ball and plays a low cross towards Dost, but Lam is across really well to get to the ball first and eventually clear for a corner. He cannot continue and Bruma comes on for him.
Hamburg look to be finishing this game the stronger side. However, many of their efforts are coming from distance as Badelj is the latest to miss the target.
WOLFSBURG SUB: It turns out the Portuguese cannot continue, as Schafer comes on in his place.
HAMBURG SUB: Beister is on for Jiracek, as Vieirinha receives treatment on the far side.
Van der Vaart swings in another dangerous ball. It's aimed at the far post and only needs a touch from a Hamburg player or a Wolfsburg defender. In the end it misses everyone and Benaglio is just able to gather - albeit at the second attempt. The keeper then dives across to get fingers on a Van der Vaart drive.
Hamburg finally muster another decent chance. This time it's Son who tries to create an angle on the edge of the box, but his effort is well blocked by the closing defence.
SITTER! He is having a stinker, Dost! This time he's played through down the middle. He's clear through but goes for the little chip, which Drobny reads and just manages to touch wide. He could have a hat-trick already, the striker. From the corner Naldo gets up but so does the ball - it flies into the stands. Hamburg make a change with Iliceviv coming on for Rincon.
SAVE! Van der Vaart gets a pocket of space in his favoured spot just outside the box, but his shot is poor and it dribbled to Benaglio. There's a hint of this game being much more open as we enter the final 15 minutes though. Dost again is found in the middle this time from a Vieirinha cross, but Drobny makes another fine save.
Diego could be away down the left, but his control just lets him down. It was one of those where it went in the air and he couldn't see where it was landing, so bang goes the chance.
CHANCE! It's now all Wolfsburg as the ball is drilled in to Dost, who finds himself one-on-one, but instead of scoring it's a fine save from Drobny. That really should be 2-1!
Here come Wolfsburg down the left again, as Diego this time finds space but his cross is put behind for a corner. It's fizzed in dangerously by Rodriguez and Drobny makes a hash of his clearance, but Vieirinha's snap-shot lob goes wide.
SAVE! Benaglio tested again, this time diving to his righht to keep out a shot from distance by Rincon. You'd expect him to make that save, but he again decided to push it away rather than cling on.
Van der Vaart goes down wanting a free kick, but nothing is given. As Hamburg complain the substitute Perisic dummies a cross on his left before clipping in a delightful ball to the onrushing right-back, who guides a diving header past Drobny!
GOAL! Hamburg 1-1 Wolfsburg (Hasebe)
WOLFSBURG SUBS: Driving run from Polak from deep, but his pass right to Vieirinha was massively overhit. Bas Dost comes on for Arnold, with Ivan Perisic coming on for Olic.
SAVE! Benaglio is tested once more, this time after Lam had driven forward and cut on to his right foot. The keeper almost made a meal of that one, but did enough to push it away from goal.
BOOKING: Rincon wanted a free kick but instead stayed on the ball to prevent Wolfsburg from countering. He goes into the book for his troubles. A tactical booking, that one.
SAVE! Van der vaart and Rudnevs combine nicely but the former's return pass is just too strong and the ball runs through to Benaglio. Then they come again and Son shoots left-footed from just outside the box, but Benaglio pushes it away neatly.
The corner comes to nothing and Hamburg manage to escape. Their passing has gone off the boil, however, as Wolfsburg start to control the play. Vieirinha has come into his own down the right and is running rings around Lam, but he just can't find a teammate with his crosses.
Rudnevs almost works space for a shot after having come deep to pinch the ball back. Wolfsburg break at the other end and Vieirinha's far-post header is blocked behind my Rajkovic.
After the frantic opening, the game has settled back into its usual pattern. That is to say there are more scrappy fouls and misplaced passes again.
Hamburg's defence goes to sleep slightly as Olic tries to get in. It comes to Rodriguez, who finds Arnold to his left, but his shot goes over the bar. Half-chance, that.
Rudnevs somewhat selfishly goes for goal from the corner of he box when he really should have found Son to his right.
MISS! Diekmeier is set away down the right with a Lam crossfield pass. He advances on goal and the angle might be tight be he blazes the effort over! Poor.
KICKOFF: Wolfsburg get us underway for the second half, a goal behind.
So we're not too far away from the second half here and this one can certainly still go either way. As it stands Hamburg will move up a place to sixth and will be right behind Freiburg, who won earlier today.
I wouldn't be surprised if we saw half-time changes from both coaches. Hamburg might be leading, but neither side has been effective up top, so it might be time for players more adept at holding the ball up - certainly from Wolfsburg's point of view, Olic has done little.
The second half can surely only get better? Aside from the goal Van der Vaart had a decent volley comfortably saved and Diego shot not too far wide from outside the box, but there has been a real lack of goalmouth action.
There was no sign of a goal here from either side, so Hamburg can probably count themselves fortunate they are ahead. That said, it was a great free kick from Van der Vaart and a good low header from Westermann.
HALF-TIME: Hamburg 1-0 Wolfsburg
It was always likely that it would take a set piece to score here and that is what has happened. Van der Vaart swings in a booming free kick from distance and Westermann gets his head on it from quite far out in the box to power home a header. It's not deserved really, but it's the lead!
GOAL! Hamburg 1-0 Wolfsburg (Westermann)
Rincon looks for Diekmeier from deep, but his pass is hugely overhit and goes out of play. That's very indicative of the football we've seen here in the first half.
The crowd are still lively, which is more than can be said for the football on display. Still just a chance each way and we're now getting many free kicks right after each other which isn't helping the flow.
The visitors are enjoying the greater amount of possession at the moment, but it doesn't look likely that we'll get a goal before the break. Just 10 minutes of the half remain.
Hasebe does well down the right to get past Lam and win a corner, which this time Diego will take. It's headed away as far as Rodriguez who tries a spectacular half-volley, but it's straight at Drobny.
BOOKING: Vieirinha is booked for going in late and a little too high on Lam in the corner. One booking each for the site now. Olic latches on to a Rajkovic mmistake, but tries a lob and doesn't get enough on it. His back was to goal and he had more time than he thought there.
Now Wolfsburg attempt to keep the ball with a spell of passing football. It's mainly in their own and the middle third, however, as Hamburg too are getting men behind the ball when not in possession. The chance ends when Rodriguez pings to Hasebe on the other flank, but gets too much on it.
Wolfsburg are defending well in the box. Diekmeier heads a free kick right into the thick of the box, but the visitors manage to hook it away without too much problem. Hamburg are seeing a lot more of the ball now, though.
Half-chance for Rudnevs there, which is probably the clearest site of goal for the hosts so far. His effort is blocked before WOlfsburg go up the other end - Diego shoots from just outside the box but it went not far wide. Drobny had that covered.
Good pace from Vieirinha on the right, who waited for the ball to come down before striking a half-volley, but his effort went well wide. There's a very loud whistle in the crowd that must be incredibly distracting for the players.
At the other end Wolfsburg have a free kick wide on the right in a good spot for Rodriguez's left foot. He crosses deep to the far post, but it's a big claim from Drobny, who is in for the suspended Rene Adler.
BOOKING: Son breaks forward and gets the ball back from Rudnevs. As the Korean broke into the box he clipped it past Benaglio and left his foot in for the contact, but insteaad gets booked for diving. A very good decision, that.
Wolfsburg win their first corner of the match, and forward come the centre-backs. It's Rodriguez to take, but he can't beat the first man and from it Hamburg break. It's handball from Diego as Son went past him, and that should probably be a booking.
A hopeful, yet perhaps ominous, statistic - in the 31 games between these sides there has yet to be a 0-0. On the pitch, however, the players are doing their best to change that it seems!
Wolfsburg are probably just about on top, but there has been no threat whatsoever to either goal apart from Van der Vaart's volley early on.
The game is in a bit of a scrappy phase. Wolfsburg work a bit of possession finally, but Vieirinha sees the headlines and decides to go for goal from way out. Naturally, it's in row Z.
Rudnevs tries to drive through the heart of the Wolfsburg defence, but he cuts back which allows the visitors back in. In the end a ball from Lam is nodded back to Benaglio, but it's not close enough and Hamburg have a corner.
Still something of a lack of a cutting edge early on here. Both defences are solid to start, which will please both coaches.
The tricky Diego draws an early foul from Rincon. Drobny is out well to a long ball in the direction of Olic to claim at the feet of the Wolfsburg man. Hamburg's passing isn't quite so sharp, until Arnold crosses to Van der Vaart, whose volley is straight at Benaglio - good effort.
Wolfsburg are looking lively early on as Vieirinha looks to play in Olic, but the striker had drifted well offside. There has been a crisp passing start from both teams.
KICKOFF: Hamburg get us underway.
The players are ready, the referee is doing his final checks. Kickoff shortly! A reminder, Freiburg's win just now means that Hamburg could only move up one place instead of two.
WOLFSBURG XI: Benaglio; Hasebe, Naldo, Knoche, Rodriguez; Medojevic, Polak; Vieirinha, Diego, Arnold; Olic
HAMBURG XI: Drobny; Diekmeier, Westermann, Rajkovic, Lam; Badelj, Rincon; Jiracek, Son; Van der Vaart, Rudnevs
Not much time for anything else, so I'll just get the team news across.
Hello and thanks for joining me for the second game in today's Bundesliga double-header. We have Hamburg vs. Wolfsburg kicking off very soon indeed.
Written by
Matt Domm
Matt Domm
