Defenders stole the show on Saturday afternoon as FC Koln and Hamburger SV started the Bundesliga season with a goalless draw.
Hamburg enjoyed almost complete dominance for the opening 45 minutes, but their frustration would be a sign of things to come as Johan Djourou and Pierre-Michel Lasogga both headed wide early on.
Rafael van de Vaart was playing a key role in almost every attack for the visitors, and he came agonisingly close in the 35th minute as a curled effort drifted just wide of the target.
The Dutch playmaker was involved again just before the break when he found Lasogga with a knockdown header, but the forward somehow dragged his shot past the post from a good position.
Koln produced an impressive response in the second half, but it was still the visitors who were creating the better chances as Ivo Ilicevic headed straight at Timo Horn from close range.
The best chance to secure a victory fell to a Koln forward, but Yuya Osako fired over after linking well with Marcel Risse.
Neither side did enough in the closing stages to pick up the win as they each took a point from the opening fixture of the campaign.
Callum Mulvihill
