Marcel Heller's fifth goal of the season helped Darmstadt to a point against Hamburg. - © © gettyimages / Scheuber
Marcel Heller's fifth goal of the season helped Darmstadt to a point against Hamburg. - © © gettyimages / Scheuber

Honours even between Darmstadt and Hamburg

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SV Darmstadt 98 and Hamburger SV shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor in Saturday’s late kick-off.

SV Darmstadt 98 1-1 Hamburger SV

Goals: 0-1 Lasogga (pen. 29), 1-1 Heller 47'

Having lost their last two, Darmstadt began the game on the front foot, and might have gone ahead inside the first five minutes as Konstantin Rausch’s free-kick struck the top of the crossbar. Rausch was a constant threat for the hosts, but their rhythm was disrupted when Peter Niemeyer clumsily fouled Michael Gregoritsch, allowing Pierre-Michel Lasogga to fire Hamburg into the lead from the penalty spot.

Dirk Schuster’s side were unfortunate to be trailing at the break, but they were finally rewarded for their efforts in the early moments of the second half when Jerome Gondorf picked out Marcel Heller to power a downward header into the net. Hamburg looked the most likely team to grab a winner in the latter stages and Nicolai Müller’s drive drew a fine save from Christian Mathenia, although Adler had to make a smart stop to deny Heller at the death.

Man of the match

Darmstadt’s Gondorf had an excellent game, seeming to cover every blade of grass in a fierce midfield battle and assisting Heller for the equaliser with a peach of a cross. 

Talking point

 They may yet be waiting for their first ever Bundesliga victory over Hamburg, but Darmstadt continue to defy expectations in the top flight. Schuster’s side remain in the relative safety of 13th in the table and have lost just four of their 12 league games heading into next week’s international break.

Match stats

    Lasogga’s goal was his first penalty in the Bundesliga. He now has five goals this term, more than in the entire 2014/15 season.Heller has scored five goals this season from just 12 shots and has now scored his first header in the Bundesliga.Darmstadt had 13 shots to Hamburg's six, the first time this season that the Lilies have had more attempts on goal than the opposition.

Line-ups

Darmstadt: Mathenia – Garics, Sulu (c), Caldirola, Junior Diaz – Heller (Rajkovic 90+3’), Niemeyer, Gondorf, Rausch (Kempe 73’) – Rosenthal (Sailer 85’) - Wagner

Hamburg: Adler – Sakai, Djourou (c), Spahic, Ostrzolek – Müller (Stieber 90+3’), Diaz (Jung 90+3’), Holtby, Gregoritsch – Schipplock (Ilicevic 65’), Lasogga