A Filip Stojilkovic goal inside the final 10 minutes helped Darmstadt maintain their four-point Bundesliga 2 lead over Hamburg, who had led through Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer's early effort.

Darmstadt 1-1 Hamburg
Goals: 0-1 Königsdörffer 4', 1-1 Stojilkovic 81'

Previously unbeaten at home in eight games this season, leaders Darmstadt also boasted the best defensive record in the division. Local fans thus flocked to the Stadion am Böllenfalltor in confident mood ahead of a mouth-watering promotion battle. No sooner had said supporters settled into their seats, however, then Hamburg hit the front. Moritz Heyer’s curling pass into the area after four minutes found the quick-thinking Königsdörffer in position to score his sixth goal of the season. When the hosts hit their stride, Frank Ronstadt boomed a shot towards the target that drew a smart stop from Daniel Heuer Fernandes. The visiting goalkeeper would make an even more dramatic intervention to keep his team in front later in the half. After escaping down the right, Phillip Tietz rolled a pass across from Mathias Honsak to slide in and divert a spinning shot against the inside of the upright. Part of the ball crossed the line, but Heuer Fernandes somehow managed to prevent all of it from doing so.

The Lilies had scored in each of their last 18 home games and began the second half determined to maintain that sequence. Ronstadt tried, but once again failed, to beat Heuer Fernandes with a solid strike. At the other end, Marcel Schuhen prevented Jean-Luc Dompe from doubling HSV’s lead. With home concerns growing, Darmstadt finally found their moment. When a visiting attack broke down, Marvin Mehlem bent a pass into the path of Stojilkovic. Beginning a run from just inside the Hamburg half with Jonas David for company, there looked to be little on for the Swiss forward. Yet the 23-year-old was allowed to race all the way into the box before rolling in a finish for his first goal in Darmstadt colours. Fabian Holland might have then won it for the hosts but his wayward shot brought groans from the home fans, who, when the dust settles will feel more than satisfied with a point against their direct promotion rivals.

Match stats

• Hamburg scored the game's first goal for the 13th time this season.
• Königsdörffer - who scored his first goal since November - also netted in the corresponding fixture against Darmstadt this season.
• Stojilkovic scored his first goal in German football.
• Mehlem provided his eighth assist of the season.
• Darmstadt are unbeaten at home so far this term (W7, D5). Indeed, they haven't lost on their own patch since Matchday 30 of last season (5-2 vs. Schalke).
• In 14 Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 meetings between the clubs, the home team has never won.
• HSV have still never lost at the Böllenfalltor. In 10 away appearances in Darmstadt, Hamburg have managed six wins and four draws.

Teams

Darmstadt: Schuhen - Zimmermann, Isherwood, Riedel - Ronstadt (Bennetts 66'), Holland (c), Schnellhardt (Stojilkovic 67'), Karic - Mehlem, Tietz, Honsak (Warming 86')
Unused subs: Brunst, Gjasula, Bader, Ben Bella, Wilhelmsson, Torsiello
Out: Kempe (medial collateral ligament), Müller (muscular), Pfeiffer (muscular), Seydel (torn tendon)
Coach: Torsten Lieberknecht

Hamburg: Heuer Fernandes - Heyer (Katterbach 79'), David, Schonlau (c), Muheim - Reis, Meffert, Benes (Nemeth 79') - Königsdörffer (Jatta 63'), Glatzel, Dompe
Unused subs: Raab, Mikelbrencis, Bilbija, Kittel, Montero, Kisilowski
Out: Amaechi (ankle), Heil (calf), Krahn (knee), Mickel (broken ribs), Suhonen (torn tendon), Vuskovic (suspended)
Coach: Tim Walter

Matchday 22 round-up

Fortuna Düsseldorf 3-1 Eintracht Braunschweig
Goals: 1-0 Kownacki (1’), 2-0 Klarer (25’), 2-1 Kastenmeier (o.g. 62’), 3-1 Niemiec (85’)

Düsseldorf kept themselves in with an outside chance of a top-three finish thanks to a comfortable win at home to Braunschweig. The hosts raced into the lead when the returning Dawid Kownacki turned in a low cross inside 60 seconds – the first time in their 672-game Bundesliga 2 history that Eintracht had conceded in the first minute. Rouwen Hennings saw a penalty saved by Jasmin Fejzic, but Christoph Klarer doubled the advantage midway through the first half with a header. The visitors got one back when Florian Kastenmeier caught a corner but took the ball over his own goal line. However, Jona Niemiec’s first Bundesliga 2 goal guaranteed the points for Fortuna in sixth, while Die Löwen remain 14th, but just a point above the drop zone.

Karlsruhe 1-0 Jahn Regensburg
Goals: 1-0 Kaufmann (24’)

Karlsruhe put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone with a third straight win thanks to Mikkel Kaufmann’s goal midway through the first half of a highly entertaining game at home to Regensburg. The Dane’s effort on 24 minutes was deflected by Jan Elvedi beyond goalkeeper Jonas Urbig. Jahn were denied a goal of their own three times by the woodwork. Andreas Albers saw a header tipped onto the post and Sarpreet Singh struck the bar in the first half, before the New Zealander was again denied by the crossbar in the 90th minute. It extends the Bavarians winless run to nine and leaves them in the bottom two, but with three teams all within one win from being reeled in.

Kaiserslautern 3-1 Greuther Fürth
Goals: 1-0 Boyd (22'), 1-1 Hrgota (62'), 2-1 Hercher (66‘), 3-1 Kraus (69‘)
Red card: Asta (29’)

Having won five of their last eight, the visitors headed to Kaiserslautern with hopes of keeping their fain promotion hopes alive with another victory. Considering Lautern had lost each of their last two, it wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility, but the Cloverleaves were all but done by half time. First, Terrence Boyd tucked home at the back post following a wonderful team move and then, just minutes later, Simon Asta was sent off to leave Greuther both a goal and a man down. The away team were much improved after the break and did pull themselves level through captain Branimir Hrgota’s excellent goal but the home side soon struck twice more to wrap up a comfortable win.

Watch: Highlights of Lautern’s victory over Fürth

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Holstein Kiel 1-1 Paderborn
Goals 0-1 Rohr (31'), 1-1 Reese (66')

Paderborn have been rampant in recent weeks and headed into Matchday 22 on the back of four successive victories. They put themselves well on course for a fifth win on the spin with just half an hour on the clock, thanks to Maximilian Rohr’s first goal of the season. It looked as though Paderborn would indeed chalk up three points once more, but Kiel had other plans. Fabian Reese levelled proceedings with just over 20 minutes to play and claimed a well-earned draw that keeps the gap between the two sides at seven points.

Nuremberg 1-0 Sandhausen
Goals: 1-0 Duah (86')

Sandhausen remain rooted to the bottom of the division after suffering their fourth defeat on the bounce, and sixth from their last seven matches. And this loss will hurt as the struggling visitors were just four minutes away from taking something from Nuremberg. As it was, though, London-born Swiss striker Kwadwo Duah popped up with his seventh goal of the season to seal all three points for the hosts in their first game under sporting director Dieter Hecking, following the dismissal of Markus Weinzierl.

Arminia Bielefeld 0-1 Heidenheim
Goals: 0-1 Schimmer (70')

The draw between Darmstadt and HSV was the perfect result for third-place Heidenheim, who traveled to Bielefeld knowing that victory would move them to within just one point of second and only five off top spot. After a relatively uneventful opening 45 minutes, the visitors finally broke the resistance of their hosts with 20 minutes to play. Kevin Sessa’s shot was well blocked in the area but, Bielefeld’s defence could only watch on as Stefan Schimmer followed up first on the rebound and jabbed home at the back post. It would prove the decisive moment of the match and keeps Heidenheim firmly in the running for promotion.

St. Pauli 1-0 Hansa Rostock
Goals: 1-0 Irvine (26’)

The home outfit had claimed four successive victories going into Matchday 22 and made it five from five courtesy of a narrow victory over Rostock. Australian midfielder Jackson Irvine was the man who had the Millerntor-Stadion rocking inside the first half hour, with his fifth goal of the season setting Pauli on their way. A brief hold-up at the start of the second half delayed proceedings, but there was no denying Pauli victory. The result - and superb ongoing sequence - now leaves Fabian Hürzeler’s team on the fringes of the promotion hunt.

Hannover 1-2 Magdeburg
Goals: 0-1 Atik (48'), 0-2 Castaignos (61'), 1-2 Schaub (69')
Red card: Kunze (55')

Magdeburg have been making a real fist of it in recent weeks and, having gone into half-time goalless, the visitors broke the deadlock just three minutes after the break. Baris Atik opened the scoring, bagging his second goal in as many matches after VAR - studying an offside in the build-up - gave his opener the all-clear. Hannover’s hopes of a comeback were dealt a blow 10 minutes later as Fabian Kunze received his second booking of the game and Magdeburg soon pulled further clear through Luc Castaignos’ placed finish from 12 yards. Louis Schaub did provide late hope for the hosts, who pressed hard for an equaliser, but Magdeburg held firm to claim a crucial win in their bid for survival.

About the clubs

Hamburger SV

Volksparkstadion

SV Darmstadt 98

Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor