Trochowski stunner denies Wolfsburg win
Reuters - Friday 29 January 2010, 22:40
BERLIN - Substitute Piotr Trochowski
scored a spectacular stoppage-time equaliser to earn Hamburg SV
a 1-1 home draw with champions VfL Wolfsburg on Friday.
Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko gave the visitors the lead with a
curling shot from the edge of the box in the 34th minute before
Trochowski fired in a 25-metre free-kick with the last touch of
the match.
Hamburg remain fifth on 35 points from 20 matches while
Wolfsburg, still looking for their first win since early
November, are 10th.
"For the way we scored the goal we should be happy with the
point but for the way we played we should have left as winners
tonight," Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia told reporters.
"We dominated our opponents and had countless chances but we
were just too careless."
INTERIM COACH
Wolfsburg, led by interim coach Lorenz-Guenther Koestner
after this week's sacking of Armin Veh, went close after five
minutes when Brazilian Grafite curled a cross into the box and
Dzeko just failed to convert.
Dzeko and Christian Gentner went close again before
Hamburg's Markus Berg was denied by keeper Andre Lenz from close
range and Mladen Petric sent a 20-metre free-kick against the
post.
Striker Dzeko then broke the deadlock when he controlled a
deep cross with his chest, turned quickly and floated a
left-footed shot past keeper Frank Rost for his ninth league
goal of the season.
Hamburg attacked in the second half and hit the woodwork
eight minutes after the restart when David Rozehnal headed an
Eljero Elia corner against the bar.
Wolfsburg, who have now gone eight matches without victory,
must have thought they had won after Hamburg squandered several
more opportunities but Trochowski, who came on in the 78th
minute, saved the day.
Hamburg's new signing, Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy,
watched from the stands.