Hamburg off the mark

Hamburg survived a late fight-back from Hapoel Tel-Aviv to secure their first points of their Europa League campaign.

Germans edge six-goal thriller in HSH Nordbank Arena

Hamburg survived a late fight-back from Hapoel Tel-Aviv to secure their first points of their Europa League campaign. The German outfit ran out eventual 4-2 winners but were occasionally under pressure as Hapoel twice cut their lead to just one goal. Swedish striker Marcus Berg gave the hosts a flying start with a brace inside the first 12 minutes before an Etey Shechter strike brought the Israeli's back into the game on 37 minutes. The two-goal cushion was restored just three minutes later however as Eljero Elia calmed the home fans as the interval neared. After a quiet start to the second period, a Samuel Yeboah goal brought the game to life as Hapoel once again threatened a comeback. However, calmness was restored along with the two-goal cushion once more as veteran Brazilian midfielder Ze Roberto sealed the points with the final goal of the game with 13 minutes remaining. Hapoel remain ahead of their German counterparts in second place on goal difference in Group C with Vienna leading the way on four points after their draw at Celtic.