On a night with much at stake for both teams, Hamburg will be very disappointed in comparison to Osnabrück at the 1-1 final score at the Volksparkstadion

The opening goal came in the 35th minute with a Martin Harnik strike give the hosts the lead that they craved. However, this was to be Hamburg’s only goal of the game.

Just before the hour mark, Moritz Heyer slotted home for the Lila-Weiß, and from that point, they had the better of the chances to seal three points.

The stalemate means that HSV now anxiously await the outcome of Stuttgart vs Sandhausen tomorrow evening, while Osnabrück take another step towards 2.Bundesliga safety.

Story of the match

In the opening 25 minutes, both sides had one very good chance to score in what was otherwise a slow and disrupted period of the game. Hamburg’s Sonny Kittel found himself in a great position inside the box, but he hesitated to shoot, which allowed the Osnabrück defender to get close enough to block his attempt.

At the other end, a fine move from the away side saw Bashkim Ajdini slice open the hosts’ defence to find Felix Agu. His square ball deep inside the box took the Hamburg goalkeeper Pollersbeck out of the game and from point blank range, Gambian international Assan Ceesay missed the target when it seemed much easier to score. He will not enjoy watching a repeat of that one.  

Die Rothosen grew into the game over the following 10 to 15 minutes, but for all their possession, they could not find the incision that they needed. However, their patient build up and ball retention eventually did lead to a breakthrough.

On the left side just into opposition territory, a very neat one-two combination from Harnik and David Kinsombi released the Austrian attacker into space. He found himself in a good position inside the box and made no mistake with a fine left foot finish for his third goal of the season.  

Hamburg played out the rest of the first half in a controlled fashion with Osnabrück trailing. 

Both sides emerged from the break unchanged, but Hamburg failed to build on their lead which proved costly at the 57th minute mark as the away side grabbed an equalizer after quickly turning defense into attack.

Sebastian Klaas got himself into a very dangerous position, and was clear on the right wing. His driven cross took a slight deflection off the leg of Hamburg centerback Gideon Jung, on the stretch. Pollersbeck could only parry the ball into the path of midfielder Heyer, who hit the net with a firm finish.

Shortly after the restart, Dieter Hecking replaced the impressive Kinsombi with Louis Schaub whilst Kittel departed to make way for Bakery Jatta. Kinsombi’s drive and application was missed as Hamburg huffed and puffed in their search for a second goal.

The last 15 minutes saw two very good chances for Osnabrück as they countered the home team and were clever with their play.

The last five minutes was end to end but the expected Hamburg onslaught never materialised. Given that they needed a win tonight, their second half performance in particular was very disappointing.

Three minutes of time was added on with HSV forcing a couple of corners. A late moment of controversy was ignored by the referee as Timo Letschert appeared to be bundled down by his marker as they jostled for the incoming corner. 

No penalty. No VAR. No three points for Hamburg as they squandered a massive chance to strengthen their second place position in the table.

Meanwhile, Osnabrück will be content that they got a share of the spoils, as the draw was the least that they deserved from this game.

Takeaways 

Tonight’s result meant that Arminia Bielefeld are crowned as 2.Bundesliga champions and will return to the top flight after an absence of 11 years. Glückwunsch!

Joel Pohjanpalo was a frustrated figure up front for the home team tonight. His team mates failed to give him the service to enable him to continue his recent goalscoring form. If HSV are to get promoted, they need to sharpen up in the final third and the Finnish forward is their most potent threat.

Will it be Hamburg or Stuttgart or even FC Heidenheim who secure the second automatic promotion spot? The twists and turns look set to continue as no team can find the form to make that spot their own. This one will go right to the wire with Matchday 33 serving up a massive tie as Hamburg visit Heidenheim.

Man of the match - David Kinsombi

In a game where no player truly stood out, one in particular was notable for his absence during the lacklustre second half push by Hamburg. David Kinsombi was instrumental in their good passages of play and claimed an assist for the opening goal. When he left the pitch, his industry and drive was not replaced.

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