Borussia Monchengladbach scored at the death to secure a 1-1 draw against Hamburger SV in this afternoon's Bundesliga clash at the Imtech Arena.
Both sides traded speculative chances early on, with Zoltan Stieber's effort from deep within the opposition box forcing a block in the third minute.
Max Kruse blasted a shot just wide of the post a minute later, which was followed almost immediately by Patrick Herrmann smashing the ball against the woodwork.
Ivica Olic and Dennis Diekmeier came close for Hamburg midway through the first half, while Andre Hahn headed wide just before the half-hour mark.
Neither side was able to break the deadlock by the half-time whistle, and both teams continued to be evenly matched after the restart.
First blood was eventually drawn by Hamburg in the 74th minute when a fast counter-attack led by Artjoms Rudnevs set up Stieber, who finished off the move with a powerful low shot from outside the box into the bottom corner.
Thorgan Hazard nearly scored with eight minutes to play with a sweet free kick which curled just above the bar, but time appeared to be running out for the visitors.
Right at the death, however, the equaliser came, as Kruse's cross into the box was nodded home by Branimir Hrgota.
The result sees Monchengladbach remain third in the Bundesliga table, while Hamburg climb to 11th.
Giuseppe Labellarte
