Hamburg, Dec 5 (IANS) Hamburg secured the first win of the season thanks to goals from Michael Gregoritsch and Matthias Ostrzolek, while Augsburg's Ji Dong-Won ensured a 1-1 draw against Frankfurt to close out the 13th round of Bundesliga football action.
Last-placed Hamburg ended their winless run of 12 games as goals from Gregoritsch and Ostrzolek smoothed the way for the first three points of the season on Sunday, reports Xinhua.
In a rough game with many fouls, both sides exchanged long-range efforts in the opening period. Hamburg's Gregoritsch came close to breaking the deadlock but his effort went just wide of the far corner.
Gregoritsch nodded home Filip Kostic's pinpoint cross at the half-hour mark to take the 1-0 advantage going into half time.
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After the restart, Darmstadt tried to increase the pressure but Hamburg were able to keep the hosts at distance. The visitors continued to pose a threat as Nicolai Mueller and Filip Kostic came close to scoring.
Darmstadt's best chance came at 80 minutes into the encounter as Aytac Sulu unleashed a dangerous shot on target to test Hamburg goalkeeper Christian Mathenia.
However, the hosts efforts remained fruitless as Hamburg sealed the deal in the dying seconds of the game as Matthias Ostrzolek tapped home Gotoku Sakai's assist to score his first goal in his 133 Bundesliga appearances.
With the result, Hamburg climbed out of last place to move to 17th in the standings. Meanwhile, Darmstadt slipped from 15th to 16th, which is a relegation play off spot.
Elsewhere, Augsburg stopped Frankfurt's three-game winning streak following a 1-1 draw on home soil.
In a fast-paced encounter, where both teams exchanged offensive action, Frankfurt scored the opener through Branimir Hrgota, who scored with a drop kick from the edge of the box in the 30th minute.
Augsburg remained unfazed and replied only four minutes later when Ji Dong-Won drilled the ball from 20 meters into the top left corner to restore parity.
Despite the 1-1 draw, Frankfurt extended their unbeaten run to seven games, slipping from fourth to fifth while Augsburg stay on the 12th place.
--IANS
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