2nd Bundesliga
Pyro trouble, missed penalty – Hannover makes a mistake against Bochum
Updated 12/13/2025 – 10:46 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Hannover missed the jump to third place in the 2nd league. Also because 96 was unlucky in the final.
Setback for Hannover 96 in the fight for the Bundesliga return. On Saturday evening there was only a 0-0 draw against VfL Bochum in front of the home crowd. Bad luck: VfL keeper Timo Horn saved a penalty from Benjamin Källman in the 44th minute.
Due to the massive use of pyrotechnics on both fans’ sides, referee Tobias Reichel had to interrupt the game for several minutes after just over a quarter of an hour of play. Thick smoke hung over the field.
42,300 spectators probably saw the last home game with 96 managing director Marcus Mann. The sports director is drawn to the top Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg. Hannover have only won two of the last six games in their own stadium.
Because fireworks were set off in the Bochum fan block, the game had to be interrupted for around seven minutes in the first half (17th). At this point, both teams had already missed several great chances: Bochum’s Francis Onyeka (6th) had the first of them. Then it was Hannover’s Japanese Hayate Matsuda (6th) and Daisuke Yokota (15th).
The 96ers dominated the entire game, but lacked sharpness in attack. The poor form of striker Benjamin Källman on the day was indicative of this.
The Finnish international striker has already scored nine times in this second division season. This time he failed with a poorly shot penalty from VfL goalkeeper Timo Horn (44th). The video referee had previously checked for a long time whether there was a foul or not in a duel between Bochum’s Farid Alfa-Ruprecht and Hanover’s Maurice Neubauer.
In the 60th minute, Horn showed his next great feat: He parried a shot from the completely free-standing Matsuda from close range. Källman headed the ensuing corner onto the crossbar (62′). From Bochum There was hardly any relief in the second half – until the 78th minute, when substitute Mats Pnewig hit the post in one of the few constructive attacks. On the other side, Waniss Taibi also failed shortly before the end due to the outstanding horn (88th).