Hamburg miss out on promotion to Bundesliga after 99th-minute Heidenheim winner
Last updated on .From the section European Football
Imagine believing your side had finally returned to the top flight, only for promotion to be snatched away minutes after the final whistle.
That is what happened to Hamburg supporters who had stormed on to the pitch only to be told a 99th-minute winner elsewhere had denied them a return to the Bundesliga.
German giants Hamburg, hoping to end their five-year stay in the second division, beat Sandhausen 1-0 to move into the top two on the final day of the season and looked set for promotion with rivals Heidenheim trailing 2-1.
As visiting supporters streamed on to the pitch after full-time the stadium's loudspeaker announced that goals in the 93rd and 99th minutes had sealed automatic promotion for Heidenheim at Hamburg's expense.
The two-time European Cup winners instead finish the season in third and will now play in the promotion-relegation play-off for the second consecutive campaign, taking on Stuttgart, who finished third-last in the top division.
Heidenheim, who were only promoted to the second tier in the 2014 season, secured a spot in the Bundesliga for the first time in their history.
