Hamburg's bar to progress

Surprise strugglers Hamburg have scored fewer goals than any Bundesliga club this season and the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper has discovered one possible cause - the goals in their home stadium could be too small.

The newspaper reported that the goals in the Hamburg Arena stand 2.39 metres high, with the crossbar five centimetres lower than the prescribed 2.44 metres.

Read more:

• Get in line for a whole day - this is Beijing

• David Beckham's Superbowl appearance

• So who are England's biggest entertainers?

"Obviously we're going to measure that again," said HSV spokesman Joern Wolf.

"If those numbers reported are correct, we will make sure we have a new goal in place that conforms with the rules by the next match against Borussia Dortmund. It's a good thing no one hit the crossbar last week in the Energie Cottbus match."

If confirmed, it would be another embarrassing setback for Hamburg, who started the season hoping to win the championship after finishing third last season. They are bottom of the

standings and last week sacked coach Thomas Doll.