Hamburg secure Bundesliga survival
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Xinhua, May 19, 2014
Hamburg remain the only team that never relegated into the second division as they carved out a 1-1 at Greuther Fuerth to ensure their Bundesliga status on Sunday.
Hamburg avoided relegation by courtesy of a 1-1 draw at the second leg of the relegation playoff games against second division side Greuther Fuerth. With the 1-1 on aggregate Hamburg secured the last spot for the upcoming Bundesliga season while Fuerth will have to play second division.
Hamburg staged barely convincing performances in both playoff games against Greuther Fuerth. However, this time Hamburg ensured a bright start as Pierre Michel Lasogga broke the deadlock with just 14 minutes into the game to spark hopes of another year in the Bundesliga. The striker shocked the hosts with a header at the far post following a corner by Rafael van der Vaart.
Hamburg's opener was a heavy setback for the hosts, as they needed two goals to wrap up their promotion.
The "HSV" controlled the reins but lacked in penetration against anxious hosts but things changed after the restart when Greuther Fuerth regrouped to start their comeback against wasteful Hamburg.
Nevertheless, Fuerth's equalizer came out of thin air when Stephan Fuerstner benefited from Zoltan Stieber's through ball to beat onrushing Hamburg goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny at the 59th minute.
Consequently Fuerth frenetically pressed for the winner against Hamburg that defended deep to wind down the clock. Neither Ilir Azemi nor Goran Sukalo were able to score the 2-1 winner from promising position so that Hamburg sealed their Bundesliga status for next season with a 1-1 draw on aggregate.
"I am very happy that we made it although it took some doing. We lost the thread at the second half but we were lucky," Hamburg sporting director Oliver Kreutzer said.
"We have shown a good performance but we did not reward ourselves," Greuther Fuerth coach Frank Kramer said.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)