A 90th-minute equaliser from Gojko Kacar salvaged Hamburger SV a potentially crucial 1-1 draw against fellow Bundesliga strugglers Freiburg this evening.
Admir Mehmedi's first-half strike had long appeared to be enough to settle the basement battle at the Imtech Arena, but Kacar struck late to prevent Hamburg from being leapfrogged by their opponents in the table.
The hosts entered the game on the back of two successive wins and could have been ahead just moments before Mehmedi opened the scoring as Zoltan Stieber ran clear only to shoot straight at Roman Burki.
Freiburg, who had earlier threatened when Felix Klaus forced a good save out of Rene Adler, went straight up the other end and found the net as Mehmedi latched on to a flick-on and volleyed home powerfully on 25 minutes.
The visitors had several chances to extend their lead, but Adler kept out both Mehmedi and Klaus in the early stages of the second half and Nils Petersen failed to sort his feet out in time when well placed on 79 minutes.
Hamburg remained a threat themselves throughout and were rewarded for their resilience when Kacar reacted quickly to head a rebound just underneath the crossbar after Burki could only parry Ivica Olic's initial effort.
The point still lifts Freiburg out of the relegation playoff place, but keeps them a point and place behind Hamburg in 14th.
Joe Fish
