Hamburg slip up at Mönchengladbach

Hamburger SV lost ground in their bid to secure a place in Europe next season when they lost 1-0 at VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, on a day when Josip Šimunić scored a rare goal for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

Bruno Labbadia's team maybe going well in the UEFA Europa League, they play R. Standard de Liège in the first instalment of their quarter-final tie on Thursday, but have it all to do if they are to qualify for next term's edition via the Bundesliga.

They trail Werder Bremen – occupants of the division's fifth and final European place – by four points after Roel Brouwers (43) scored the only goal at Borussia Park, pouncing on a loose ball in the penalty area following the visitors' failure to deal with a free-kick.

Elsewhere, Šimunić's equaliser ten minutes from time denied third-bottom SC Freiburg a vital three points. Mohammadou Idrissou (64) put the visitors ahead when he converted Johannes Flum's pass from close range after the latter's shot had been saved by Timo Hildebrand.

Šimunić, however, consummately finished off Carlos Eduardo's pass on the counterattack and in doing so dashed Freiburg's hopes of climbing above 1. FC Nürnberg and out of the relegation-promotion play-off place. The strike was the Croatian international's first goal of the campaign and only his fourth since making his Bundeliga debut for Hamburg in August 1999.