Hamburger SV have climbed out of the relegation zone with a 3-0 triumph over SC Paderborn at the Energieteam Arena.
It was the perfect start for the visitors as Marcell Jansen burst into the box before winning a penalty by going down under a clumsy challenge from Patrick Ziegler.
Rafael van der Vaart stepped up from 12 yards, and the experienced playmaker made no mistake with a calm finish.
Paderborn enjoyed long spells on top after falling behind, but a lack of a cutting edge in attack stalled their progress throughout the night.
However, the hosts could have been level before the break had Marvin Bakalorz not missed the post by a few inches after meeting Moritz Stoppelkamp's corner with a powerful header.
Both sides missed chances in a frantic start to the second half as Paderborn goalkeeper Lukas Kruse tipped away a powerful strike from Jansen, before Elias Kachunga fired straight at Jaroslav Drobny moments later.
Josef Zinnbauer was happy to see his side operate on the counter-attack, and they were rewarded with a second goal when Jansen turned into space before picking out the bottom corner after Paderborn had failed to clear a corner.
The Paderborn challenge quickly faded after the second goal, and an impressive win for the visitors was completed when Artjoms Rudnevs headed a cross back to Zoltan Stieber, who finished off a fine move by drilling a half-volley into the top corner.
Callum Mulvihill
