Hamburg snatch dramatic late winner to condemn Wolfsburg to relegation play-offs

Posted Sunday, May 21, 2017 by PA

Luca Waldschmidt scored a late winner to condemn Wolfsburg to Bundesliga's relegation play-off spot and help Hamburg escape another dice with the drop.

Hamburg knew a victory would be enough to see them leapfrog the Wolves and preserve their ever-present status in the Bundesliga.

However, Markus Gisdol's side were on the verge of contesting the relegation play-off for the third time in four years after Robin Knoche's first-half header for Wolfsburg.

The hosts rallied, though, and equalised through Filip Kostic and substitute Waldschmidt scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season with two minutes of the season remaining to seal a dramatic 2-1 victory.

Wolfsburg now face the uncertainty of a two-legged play-off against the third-placed side in the second tier - currently Eintracht Braunschweig ahead of Sunday's final round of fixtures.

The visitors began on the front foot at Volksparkstadion and almost took the lead through Mario Gomez after nine minutes.

The former Bayern Munich striker fired a shot on the turn from 15 yards which was superbly saved by Christian Mathenia down to his right.

Mathenia had to be alert again midway through the first half to deny Jakub Blaszczykowski's powerful drive which flew through a host of bodies in the penalty area.

However, there was nothing the Hamburg goalkeeper could do to prevent Knoche from heading Wolfsburg into the lead after 23 minutes.

A corner had been cleared only as far as Sebastian Jung, who volleyed a first-time cross into the box for Knoche to nod into the far corner from eight yards.

Hamburg had barely got out of their own half but they drew level in the 32nd minute. Kostic slotted home Lewis Holtby's through ball from near the penalty spot and the hosts improved as the first half wore on.

Both sides started the second period nervously, with Wolfsburg again marginally the better side despite Hamburg's territorial advantage.

Wolfsburg striker Gomez had a good chance on the hour mark but saw his acrobatic effort deflected over the bar by Hamburg defender Mergim Mavraj.

Josuha Guilavogui lashed another shot wide for Wolfsburg with 15 minutes remaining and he was made to pay by Waldschmidt.

The former Eintracht Frankfurt striker headed home Kostic's cross at the back post in the 88th minute to send the home fans delirious.

There was still time for Maximilian Arnold to almost equalise for Wolfsburg but the impressive Mathenia parried his close-range effort wide in added time as Hamburg completed another great escape.