A hand penalty in added time decided the second division game between Hansa Rostock and SV Elversberg in favor of the hosts.
Newly promoted Elversberg was unable to end its dry spell in the 2nd Bundesliga. The Saarlanders lost to relegation candidate Hansa Rostock 1:2 (1:0) and slipped to eleventh place. Thanks to the win, the North Germans improved to 16th place in the relegation zone.
Red card and penalty in injury time
Luca Schnellbacher (41′) gave the guests the lead, but Dennis Dressel (69′) equalized for the home team on coach Mersad Selimbegovic’s home debut. Elversberg’s Frederik Jäkel saw a red card in stoppage time (90+1). He intentionally prevented Rostock from having a chance to score with a handball. Kai Pröger (90+2) converted the hand penalty to victory for Rostock. Elversberg only got one point from the last five games. FC Hansa was able to score three points again after three bankruptcies in a row.
“It was a happy win today,” said Selimbegovic after the game. “In our situation, this is exactly the right way to win games.”
Jakob Schmidt, Sportschau, January 27, 2024 3:48 p.m
Nervous start
Both teams started the game nervously and coherent actions were rarely seen. Rostock tried to put their opponents under pressure, but they lacked the playful resources and ideas to put the SVE defense in danger.
It was only in the second half that the hosts’ game became more thoughtful and efficient. The Elversbergers were embarrassed again and again, so that in the end the victory in front of 24,000 spectators was fortunate but not undeserved. In the first leg in Saarland, the Rostock team had already turned a 1-2 deficit into a 3-2 win in stoppage time.
“It’s unusual for a game to be repeated against the same opponent in the same season,” said Elversberg’s coach Steffen. “The team performed well, but unfortunately didn’t take a point.”
Jakob Schmidt, Sportschau, January 27, 2024 3:29 p.m
Elversberg now against Kaiserslautern
On the 20th matchday, Elversberg awaits 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Sunday (February 4, 2023/1:30 p.m.), while Rostock will face Hannover 96 at the same time.