Hamburger SV continues to tread water in the race for promotion in the 2nd Bundesliga.

The North Germans could not get beyond a 2:2 (1:2) draw at Fortuna Düsseldorf in an entertaining top match on Friday evening and are now without a win for three games. At least HSV kept their third-place rivals Düsseldorf at bay.

An own goal by Christoph Klarer (75th) saved HSV a point after Dawid Kownacki (21st) and Felix Klaus (28th) had initially turned the game around in front of 52,200 spectators in the sold-out Düsseldorf Arena after Laszlo Benes (5th) had given the visitors the lead. Hamburg’s Francisco Montero (89th) was shown the yellow card shortly before the end.

The beneficiaries of Hamburg’s loss of points are Darmstadt 98, who continue to strive for promotion. Coach Torsten Lieberknecht’s team won 1:0 (1:0) at 1. FC Nürnberg and extended their lead at the top of the table. Darmstadt now have a five-point cushion on HSV.

The SVD took the lead through an own goal by Nuremberg’s Christopher Schindler (31st), but otherwise remained without a shot on goal in the first half. The club was superior overall, but did not take advantage of its chances.

After the 26th matchday, coach Tim Walter’s Hamburg side are in danger of losing direct contact with the direct promotion places for the time being. Fortuna are still seven points behind the former Bundesliga dinosaur – and will probably have to bury their already tenuous dreams of promotion.

Benes first failed to hit Düsseldorf goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier with his penalty kick, but then sank the follow-up shot. As he cheered, he held up a jersey belonging to Mario Vuskovic. His team-mate had been banned for two years on Thursday for a doping offence.

Düsseldorf shook briefly and then came back strongly – but HSV still managed to earn the point.