The Stockholm team thus has a good chance of advancing from the two-legged tie, when the teams meet again in Stockholm in a week.
In the 25th minute, Rakow were forced to make a substitution when the team's experienced captain Fran Tudor was injured. However, it was the home team that had the best chances in the match.
Rakow had the ball in the net in the 68th minute, but the Armenian referee blew for a free kick on Hammarby goalkeeper Werner Hahn - who made several good saves in the match.
Hammarby had some attacks, but Rakow's goalkeeper Kacper Trelowski was also on his toes throughout the game.
The winner of the two-legged tie will face either Croatian Hajduk Split or Lithuanian Zalgiris Vilnius in the Conference League playoff.
