Honours even in Hamburg derby, Mainz top Bundesliga

Striker Mladen Petric’s long-range strike earned Hamburg a point on Sunday as his side drew 1-1 with St Pauli in the Hanseatic derby, while Mainz are the weekend’s shock Bundesliga leaders.

Hamburg’s Petric came off the bench in the 62nd-minute and went on to score a super equaliser in the 88th minute after St Pauli midfielder Fabian Boll, a part-time policeman, had fired the hosts ahead on 77 minutes.

Tickets for the Hamburg derby at St Pauli’s Millerntor Stadion ground were sold out weeks ago and 23,974 fans packed the ground to see if the hosts could win the derby for the first time since December 1977.

St Pauli took the lead when former Germany striker Gerald Asamoah squared the ball to Boll who fired past diving Hamburg goalkeeper Frank Rost.

But Hamburg hit back when Petric controlled the ball off his chest on the edge of the penalty area and half-volleyed his shot into the back of the St Pauli net with only two minutes of normal time remaining.

The result leaves Hamburg in fourth and St Pauli ninth.

On Saturday, dark horses Mainz went top after shocking Champions League side Werder Bremen 2-0 while champions Bayern Munich were held to a goalless draw at home by Cologne.

Fresh from their 2-2 midweek draw with Tottenham in the Champions League, Bremen were stunned at home as midfielder Marcel Risse netted and teenage striker Andre Schuerrle scored his third goal in three games.

The win leaves Mainz as the only team in the German league with four wins from their first four games.

Bayern’s game coincided with the start of Oktoberfest in the Bavarian city, but there was little for Bayern fans to celebrate.

Cologne had several chances to win as Bayern goalkeeper Hans-Joerg Butt had a busy afternoon while Munich only threatened in the game’s closing stages.

The result leaves Bayern eighth with five points from four games.

Hoffenheim lost their 100 percent record and are second after they were held to a 2-2 draw by Kaiserslautern thanks to a late equaliser.

Stuttgart ended their three-match losing streak with their first win of the season in a 7-0 win over Moenchengladbach as Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak scored a hat-trick.

Ex-England coach Steve McClaren picked up his first points in charge of Wolfsburg as Brazil midfielder Diego and striker Edin Dzeko both netted in the 2-0 win over Hanover.

Diego struck first with a superb bicycle kick on 55 minutes while Dzeko showed his power and pace with a 67th minute shot which gave Hanover goalkeeper Florian Fromlowitz no chance.

Later on Sunday, Dortmund are at Schalke in the Ruhr valley clash while Leverkusen host Nuremberg.