Hamburger SV were held to a goalless draw with Greuther Furth in the Bundesliga relegation playoff first leg to leave their survival hopes hanging in the balance.
The Bundesliga side were unable to grab a first-leg advantage against their lower-league opponents in a drab affair at Imtech Arena.
The home side were looking to avoid relegation for the first time in their history and it was the Bundesliga 2 outfit who nearly took the lead on 23 minutes when Ilir Azemi forced Jaroslav Drobny into a save with his legs.
Rafael van der Vaart picked out Pierre-Michel Lasogga just after the hour mark, but the striker was unable to direct his effort beyond Wolfgang Hesl.
Lasogga had another chance late on but his volley was saved again by Hesl as the visitors held on to take the 0-0 back home for the second leg.
Paul Gorst
