Leverkusen held by Hamburg comeback

Hamburg came back from two goals down to snatch a point in a 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen and move out of the automatic relegation zone. Leverkusen appeared to be cruising to victory when Andre Schurrle and Lars Bender put them two up inside 20 minutes, but Hamburg captain Heiko Westermann gave the visitors hope before the interval. The enterprising Marcell Jansen equalised just before the hour mark and Thorsten Fink's side managed to hold on for their third straight draw since the new coach arrived. Leverkusen did not need long to bounce back from the disappointment of losing 3-1 to Valencia in midweek in the UEFA Champions League as Schurrle put them ahead with only five minutes on the clock. Luck played its part too as Schurrle's long-range free-kick deflected off the head of Dennis Diekmeier in the Hamburg wall to beat a wrong-footed Jaroslav Drobny. Another deflection helped Leverkusen to a second goal just 15 minutes later. Michael Ballack's shot ricocheted to Schurrle, whose cross from the left was met by Bender, who held off Dennis Aogo to provide the finish from close range. Jansen missed the chance to bring Hamburg straight back into the game three minutes later when he failed to beat Bernd Leno in a one-on-one situation. The visitors raised their game, though, and were rewarded in the 34th minute when Aogo made up for his mistake for Leverkusen's second goal by sending in the free-kick which Westermann flicked in with his head. Jansen thought he had levelled just before the break, but the goal was ruled out for a dubious foul by Jose Paolo Guerrero. There was no doubting his equaliser in the 57th minute, though, as Gokhan Tore lifted the ball in to Jansen, who shot with his preferred left foot into the bottom corner from ten yards out. Leverkusen responded well and Eren Derdiyok missed the chance to put them back in front in the 65th minute. The home side's appeals for a penalty five minutes later were waved away by the referee when Bender went to ground after a clash with Tore before Schurrle missed a good chance to score 15 minutes from time. Despite their efforts, though, Leverkusen were unable to find a winner and they almost lost the game when the lively Jansen's shot was blocked in the last minute of the game.