Berlin, Nov 30 (IANS) Wolfsburg remained unbeaten for their sixth match in a row as Hamburg missed a chance to grab a late win in a nail biting opener in the 14th round of German Bundesliga football.
Both sides staged a high-paced see-saw clash, squandering opportunities to share the points following a 1-1 draw Friday, reports Xinhua.
Hamburg’s Ivo Ilicevic had a golden chance to seal the victory but he failed from very close range with just Wolfsburg keeper Diego Benaglio to beat in the dying minutes of the match.
Wolfsburg caught the better start on home soil as they worked out a bunch of scoring chances by courtesy of Ivica Olica. Yet, the Croatian international was unable to break the deadlock after three chances.
However, it were the visitors that opened the scoring in the 19th minute. It was Hamburg’s first noteworthy chance but Wolfsburg custodian Benaglio underestimated a free kick cross by youngster Hakan Calhanoglu from 38 meters.
The hosts remained unimpressed and pressed forward to restore parity against unimaginative and clumsy visitors from Hamburg. Just 12 minutes later, Wolfsburg earned a penalty as Heiko Westermann committed a foul inside the box. “Wolves” defender Ricardo Rodriguez converted the penalty into the bottom right.
Nonetheless, things changed in the second half, as Wolfsburg seemed content with the draw whereas Hamburg piled on the pressure to press the hosts into defence.
Hamburg’s substitute Ivo Ilicevic had probably the best chance to book a late victory for his side when he had all the time and space inside the box with just the goalkeeper to beat. Instead of making it 2-1 on the scoreboards he just rattled the bar with 13 minutes left.
The following matches are scheduled for Saturday: leaders Bayern Munich play bottom side Braunschweig, second placed Leverkusen face winless Nuremberg, Dortmund play at Mainz, Schalke encounter Stuttgart, Hoffenheim host Bremen and Berlin meet Augsburg.