Hamburg and Mainz remain locked on points near the foot of the table after goalless draw

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Hamburg and Mainz shared the points at the Volksparkstadion in this relegation six-pointer with neither side able to find a way through and put distance between themselves and their opponents at the bottom of the table.

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Hamburg 0-0 Mainz

Visitors Mainz went closest to taking the lead after just six minutes when an acrobatic Jhon Cordoba shot forced Hamburg goalkeeper Christian Mathenia into a good save before quickly recovering to smother the ball on the follow-up from Yoshinori Muto. Mainz's shot-stopper was then called into action at the other end as he got a hand on Filip Kostic’s effort across his goal. Both teams then continued to attack with the knowledge that the win was a must, but neither side could find that decisive ball. Cordoba again tested Mathenia with a stinging effort shortly before the break, but it remained goalless heading into half-time.

Bobby Wood looked to be through on goal early in the second half, but Stefan Bell got a crucial foot to the ball before the USMNT international could pull the trigger. The rest of the match followed much the same pattern as the first half with both sides looking busy but without really looking like making a breakthrough. Jairo Samperio tested Mathenia once more after a nice flick from Cordoba, but it was a comfortable save for the HSV ‘keeper. Jean-Philippe Gbamin went close in the dying embers but curled his free-kick just wide of the mark.

Man of the match

Jhon Cordoba was a live-wire for Mainz as they pushed for that crucial goal at Hamburg. The Colombian had four efforts on goal – more than anyone else – and won an impressive 17 challenges up against the robust defensive duo of Kyriakos Papadopoulous and Mergim Mavraj.

Talking point

It was a game that neither side could afford to lose with Mainz only ahead of Hamburg and the relegation play-off place by virtue of a superior goal difference, and in the end, a draw suits neither side particularly well. The result keeps Mainz out of danger for the time being, but there is now no room for error by either side with two games to go.

Match Stats

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    Hamburg have conceded more goals (59) than any other Bundesliga team this season.Mainz haven't won any of the last nine games they've played on a Sunday (six defeats, three draws).HSV have led at half-time just once at home this season (1-0 vs. Ingolstadt on MD2 - final score 1-1).

Line-ups

Hamburg: Mathenia - Diekmeier (Ostrzolek 88'), Papadopoulos, Mavraj, Janjicic - Sakai, Holtby (Jatta 68'), Jung - Hunt (Gregoritsch 82'), Kostic - Wood
Coach: Markus Gisdol

Mainz: Huth - Donati, Bell, Balogun, Brosinski - Öztunali (Samperio 63'), Gbamin, Latza (Frei 79'), De Blasis - Cordoba, Muto
Coach: Martin Schmidt

Head to the Match Centre for more on this fixture.