Hamburg - SV Hamburg were licking their wounds and cursing a paper ball on Friday as their triple title hopes from 15 days ago evaporated all but for good.

It only added insult to injury that the paper ball played a pivotal role in Thursday's 3-2 defeat against northern German rivals Werder Bremen in the UEFA Cup semi-final.

The football took an awkward bounce off that paper ball, thrown from a Hamburg section of fans, which led to a Bremen corner kick from which Frank Baumann scored the decisive 3-1 lead late in the game.

"Paper ball (!!!) decides," said Germany's Bild daily, and the English tabloids also jumped on the incident which buried the team of former Tottenham manager Martin Jol.

"A paper cut, Jol," said the Daily Mirror, and The Sun titled very similarly "Jol gets a paper cut."

And it was most likely Bremen fans who listed paper balls for sale at internet auctioneers eBay in the hours after the match - with some marked as replicas and the original object most likely not among the dozen which had appeared by Friday morning.

But in the end it was a few small mistakes and the individual skill of Bremen playmaker Diego (who is suspended for the final against Shakhtar Donetsk) that made the difference as Werder advanced on away goals.

There was likely also a mental aspect as Bremen were the worst possible opponent Hamburg could think of in a crunch match.

Bremen won a German cup semi-final in Hamburg on penalties two weeks ago and also prevailed in a 2006 final round Bundesliga match which decided direct entry into the European Champions League between the sides.

"We knew we can win decisive games in Hamburg," said Bremen midfielder Torsten Frings.

Jol spoke of "bad luck" but also admitted that Bremen's victory "may be deserved."

The team is also paying the price for its triple title hunt, while Bremen could concentrate fully on the cup games due to a mediocre mid-table Bundesliga season.

The season is still a success but, barring a miracle, Hamburg will come up empty-handed when their campaign concludes after more than 50 matches with the Bundesliga finale on May 23.

Hamburg fell five points behind leaders VfL Wolfsburg when they were held 1-1 by Hertha Berlin last weekend. Their fate could be sealed for good on Sunday when they visit Bremen in the fourth duel between the teams in 19 days.

"It may sound stupid but we must get over the defeat quickly - the season isn't over yet," said goalkeeper Frank Rost. (dpa)