Two quick goals at the end of the second half meant that neither Fortuna Düsseldorf or MSV Duisburg could make the most of a bottom of the table battle.
Coming into the game, both sides made two changes from their last outings. Fortuna brought in Fabian Holthaus and Alexander Madlung for Mathis Bolly and Adam Bodzek, while Duisburg also made two changes. Branimir Bajic and Zlatko Janjic came into the starting eleven for the suspended Thomas Meißner and benched Victor Obinna.
The first half was an even affair and both sides had their chances to go ahead. Michael Ratajczak made a vital stop from a Rolf Feltscher flick-on, while Didier Ya Konan's speculative drive went just a few inches wide of the post. The best opportunities came towards the end of the first period. A free header for Janjic, after he exchanged passes with Kingsley Onuegbu, went over when it looked easier to score than miss. The same could be said of Karim Haggui's headed effort at the other end.
Late drama at the end of the half
Eventually, after several guilt edge chances, the deadlock was broken towards the back end of the second half. Fortuna's star man this season, Kerem Demirbay, managed to provide the touch of class they were missing. The HSV midfielder managed to drift past several of the Duisburg defenders, picking up the ball and selling another with a final dummy. He was one-on-one with Ratajczak and confidently slotted the ball under the Duisburg stopper to send the home fans into frenzied celebration.
That joy would, however, be very short-lived. The Zebras would equalise a matter of moments later, albeit in controversial circumstances. After a shot had gone narrowly wide of the goal, Patrick Ittrich opted to award a corner rather than a goal kick. Fortuna protested but he waved away the appeals, only for the corner to eventually bobble to Janjic. He couldn't quite bring the ball down but Steffen Bohl was on hand to volley into the bottom corner and evel the match.
Both sides had late chances to level the game, with both coming from set-pieces. Giorgi Chanturia had a free-kick rattled the bar before a dead-ball from Demirbay floated just past the upright. That would be it, though, and the pair shared the spoils. The pressure is growing on Frank Kramer, while Ilia Greuv continues to solidify Duisburg.