Hertha and Hamburg hamper rival title bids

UEFA Cup semi-finalists Hamburger SV and Hertha BSC Berlin dropped two potentially crucial points in their pursuit of the Bundesliga title after a 1-1 draw, while HSV's European rivals Werder Bremen lost 1-0 at 1. FC Köln.

Kačar equaliser
Buoyed by their 1-0 first-leg triumph in Bremen last week, Hamburg took an early lead over the capital side through Marcell Jansen, who volleyed in from an Ivica Olić cross with eight minutes on the clock. The hosts looked the more likely team to score next too, only to be hit by an equaliser against the run of play courtesy of Gojko Kačar's 67th-minute strike. The result leaves Hertha in third, four points behind frontrunners VfL Wolfsburg with four games remaining, while Hamburg are a point further adrift in fifth.

Novakovič goal
HSV's focus will now shift to reaching the UEFA Cup final when Bremen come calling on Thursday. Thomas Schaaf's men will be desperate to overturn their first-leg deficit but they could not gain a boost in confidence ahead of the return as they slumped to defeat in Cologne, Milivoje Novakovič hitting the winner for the home side a minute after the hour mark. That moved Köln nine points clear of the relegation zone and one place behind Werder in eleventh.