Hamburg head coach Bernd Hollerbach admits his team need a "small miracle" to avoid an historic first Bundesliga relegation after dropping more points in a 0-0 draw at home to ten-man Mainz.

Goalkeeper Florian Mueller, 20, was Mainz's hero in Hamburg pulling off a string of saves, including a second-half penalty, on his German league debut.

That left Hamburg, second from bottom, seven points behind 16th-placed Mainz and looking doomed to suffer a first relegation from the top-fight in the club's history.

"Giving up is not in my nature, but we need a small miracle," admitted Hollerbach.

"I am incredibly sorry for the team, and the fans, that we did not get a reward for our effort.

"I saw that we lacked cold-nose finishing in the end, but we had that penalty and nerves certainly played a factor.

"I have to lift the team up again, I can't do any more today -- I have to sleep on it."

There was plenty of drama in Saturday's Bundesliga basement battle as Hamburg picked up only their third point in their last ten league games.

They played the last half an hour against ten men, but still could not break the deadlock.

Hamburg winger Filip Kostic hit the crossbar, then had the ball in the net in the first half, but the video assistant referee (VAR) ruled the goal offside.

Mainz had Nigeria defender Leon Balogun sent off for a second yellow card when he fouled Luca Waldschmidt in the area on 61 minutes.

The referee pointed to the spot, but Kostic's weak attempt was saved by Mueller.

Hamburg's director of sport Jens Todt was left fuming as they failed to convert any of their 18 chances -- compared to Mainz's five -- and held two thirds possession.

"It is really crazy that we didn't win the game despite gaining superiority, despite better chances and despite numerical superiority," said Todt.

"The disappointment is deep and huge -- we are a bit speechless.

"We have to let that sink in first. We are in a very bad situation, which has gotten worse again."

With nine games left, Hamburg face tough forthcoming fixtures against Bayern Munich next Saturday, then Hertha Berlin, Stuttgart and Schalke.