Hamburg remain on course for a top-three finish after thwarting fellow promotion hopefuls Fortuna Düsseldorf in a 2-2 draw on Matchday 26.

Düsseldorf 2-2 Hamburg
Goals: 0-1 Benes (5'), 1-1 Kownacki 21' (assist: Klaus), 1-2 Klaus 28' (assist: Henning), 2-2 Klarer (o.g 75')
Sent off: Montero (89')

Hamburg went into this game in third place, but with a seven-point advantage over Düsseldorf in fourth – and they began with purpose as they looked to all but cement the promotion play-off spot. They took an early lead after Robert Glatzel was bundled over in the box by Jordy de Wijs in just the second minute, with Laszlo Benes scoring on the rebound after his initial penalty had been saved. The home side soon levelled, however, when the unmarked Dawid Kownacki headed in from eight yards at a corner. More was to come from Düsseldorf shortly before the half-hour mark when Rouwen Hennings flicked the ball into the path of Felix Klaus. He sprinted away from the visiting defence and held his nerve in the one-on-one with Daniel Heuer Fernandes to complete the turnaround.

A sold-out 52,200 crowd witnessed a fiercely contested game in the second half as Hamburg pressed for an equaliser and Düsseldorf another goal that would be the knockout blow. Kownacki drilled just wide and de Wijs headed over before HSV restored parity in the closing stages following some neat interplay around the edge of the Düsseldorf penalty area. Sonny Kittel looked certain to score after being played through, but Fortuna defender Christoph Klarer's attempt to poke the ball off his toe only resulted in the ball looping up over goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier and nestling into the net. There were no further clear-cut chances in the game, although HSV ended with 10 men after Francisco Montero was sent off late on for a second bookable offence.

Laszlo Benes opened the scoring early on for Hamburg away at Fortuna Düsseldorf. - IMAGO/pepphoto / Horst Mauelshagen/IMAGO/pepphoto

Match stats

• Benes' goal was his third this season, to go with a league-best nine assists.
• Kownacki now has 12 Bundesliga 2 goals in 2022/23.
• Düsseldorf have now scored two own goals this season – only Magdeburg have more (three).
• Fortuna's unbeaten run now stands at five games, their longest such sequence in 2022/23.
• Thioune was in charge of Hamburg for 32 matches between July 2020 and May 2021. He had them top of the table in the second half of that season, but was dismissed with three games to go after a five-match winless run left their promotion hopes in jeopardy.

Teams

Düsseldorf: Kastenmeier - Zimmermann, Klarer (Oberdorf 84'), de Wijs, Karbownik - Klaus (Peterson 80'), Tanaka (Appelkamp 84'), Sobottka, Iyoha (Ginczek 80') - Kownacki, Hennings (Niemiec 66')
Unused subs: Gorka, Böckle, Gavory, Uchino
Out: Hendrix (suspended), Hoffmann (knock), Neto (ligament), Wolf (cold)
Coach: Daniel Thioune

Hamburg: Heuer Fernandes - Heyer, Montero, Katterbach, Muheim - Meffert - Reis, Benes (Suhonen 61') - Jatta (Nemeth 81'), Glatzel, Kittel (Dompe 83')
Unused subs: Raab, Mikelbrencis, David, Zumberi, Krahn, Königsdörffer
Out: Schonlau (suspended), Vuskovic (suspended)
Coach: Tim Walter

Matchday 26 round-up:

Nuremberg 0-1 Darmstadt
Goals: 0-1 Schindler o.g. (31')

Darmstadt opened up a four-point gap at the top of the table by beating Nuremberg by a single Christopher Schindler own goal at the Max-Morlock-Stadion on Friday night. Their advantage was made sure by Hamburg and Heidenheim both dropping points. It leaves Torsten Lieberknecht's team in pole position and on course for promotion with just eight games to go.

Kaiserslautern 2-2 Heidenheim
Goals: 0-1 Kleindienst (53'), 0-2 Pick (75'), 1-2 de Preville (90'+3), 2-2 Hercher (90'+5)

Four second-half goals ended in Kaiserslautern eventually securing a dramatic 2-2 draw with Heidenheim, with an injury-time double for the hosts earning Lautern a point. League top scorer Tim Kleindienst had opened the scoring shortly after half time and Florian Pick's effort with 15 minutes to go looked to have secured victory. But Kaiserslautern weren't to be denied, popping up with goals from Nicolas de Preville and Philipp Hercher in time added on to send the homes fans at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion into raptures.

Watch: Kaiserslautern 2-2 Heidenheim - highlights

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St. Pauli 1-0 Jahn Regensburg
Goals: 1-0 Osei Owusu o.g. (23')

St. Pauli's remarkable recent run continued with victory over Jahn Regensburg - their ninth in succession. Having been on the scoresheet at the right end in each of his previous two matches, Prince Osei Owusu's own goal proved to be the difference as Pauli moved fourth and are only six points back from the top three. It keeps Fabian Hürzeler's side in with a chance of what would be an incredible promotion considering the team were in the bottom three as recently as Matchday 16.

Hannover 3-1 Sandhausen
Goals: 0-1 Kinsombi (14'), 1-1 Beier (45'+2), 2-1 Köhn (61'), 3-1 Schaub (88')

Christian Kinsombi had Sandhausen in front after just 14 minutes and on course for a first victory since Matchday 18. But Maximilian Beier's equaliser on the stroke of half time turned the game on its head. Derrick Köhn and Louis Schaub went on to secure all three points for the hosts, who remain in mid-table as a result. As for the visitors, Sandhausen's latest defeat leaves them rooted to the bottom of the table and five points away from safety.

Karlsruhe 1-1 Eintracht Braunschweig
Goals: 0-1 Lauberbach (4'), 1-1 Jensen (69')
Red card: Fejzic (69')

Karlsruhe were held to a draw at home to 10-man Eintracht Braunschweig in what was a hard-fought point for both sides. It was in fact the visitors that took the lead after only four minutes as Lion Lauberbach opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the campaign. It took Karlsruhe over an hour to finally pull themselves level, with Leon Jensen on target, and their chances of victory increased in the aftermath of that goal as Jasmin Fejzic was shown a second yellow card for his complaints over the equaliser. Karlsruhe couldn't make their advantage count, though, and the spoils were shared.

Paderborn 3-2 Greuther Fürth
Goals: 1-0 Schallenberg (13'), 2-0 Muslija (61'), 3-0 Conteh (76'), 3-1 Abiama (82'), 3-2 Hrgota (82')

Paderborn ended a four-game winless run by beating Greuther on Sunday. Ron Schallenberg provided the opener with just 13 minutes on the clock, before Florent Muslija wrapped up the points with just under half an hour to play. It was Muslija's fifth goal of the season and first since Matchday 20, one that preceded Sirlord Conteh's third. Dickson Abiama and Branimir Hrgota struck late on to threaten a comeback, but the hosts held firm. Paderborn jump into fifth place, are now just seven points back from the top three and still in contention for a promotion place, while the Clover Leaves slip to 12th.

Holstein Kiel 2-3 Arminia Bielefeld
Goals: 0-1 Jäkel (11'), 0-2 Hack (29'), 1-2 Skrzybski (32'), 1-3 Okugawa (55'), 2-3 Fridjonsson (67')

Arminia Bielefeld edged a five-goal thriller in Kiel, where the visitors wasted little time in taking a 2-0 lead within the first half hour. Frederik Jäkel and Robin Hack were the men with the goals before Steven Skrzybski halved the deficit for Holstein Kiel. Masaya Okugawa restored his side's two-goal lead just after half time, but Holmbert Fridjonsson kept the home side in with a shout by registering his second league goal of the season. There would be no way back for Kiel, though, with Bielefeld picking up a vital victory in their bid for survival.

Magdeburg 3-0 Hansa Rostock
Goals: 1-0 Conde (29'), 2-0 Ceka (60'), 3-0 Ceka (70')
Red card: Verhoek (57')

Magdeburg moved one step closer to a second season in Bundesliga 2 with a comprehensive win over Hansa Rostock. Amara Conde hit a first-half opener for the home side, whose task was made simpler when John Verhoek was shown a red card after the break. Jason Ceka duly hit a 10-minute brace as Magdeburg moved four points clear of safety and six better off than Rostock, who sit second bottom. They're now six games without a win (D1, L5) and their Bundesliga 2 status hangs in the balance.

About the clubs

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Fortuna Düsseldorf

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