Hamburg had only themselves to blame as they conceded a late equaliser away at Borussia Monchengladbach.
After a frantic opening period, it was the hosts who took the lead through Rafael van der Vaart, who scored his first goal since his return to the Imtech Arena with a spectacular effort that looped high over Marc-Andre ter Stegen and into the net. However, the hosts fought back, and soon found themselves level when Martin Stranzl headed home five minutes from the break.
The parity was short-lived however, and Artjoms Rudnevs earned his side a half-time lead with a cool finish just before the whistle. Hamburg had a golden opportunity to put the match beyond Gladbach soon after the restart. A clumsy tackle in the box earned Stranzl a red card, only for Van der Vaart to send the resulting spot kick against the woodwork.
The visitors had a further effort chalked off for offside, but soon slowed the pace, and were made to pay for their wastefulness when Alvaro Dominguez nodded home Juan Arango’s free kick to secure a point for his side.