Hannover 96 continues its hunt for promotion places in the 2nd Bundesliga and has been relegated for at least one night.
Coach Stefan Leitl’s team won 3-2 (1-0) at SV Sandhausen on Friday evening and climbed to third place.
Cedric Teuchert (14th), Havard Nielsen (65th) and Sei Muroya (71st) scored for Hanover. David Kinsombi (56th) converted a penalty kick for Sandhausen that his brother Christian had won, and Bashkim Ajdini (73rd) ensured an exciting final phase. Due to game interruptions, the game was only called off after 100 minutes.
Hanover now has 17 points on the account. In the further course of the 9th matchday, 1. FC Heidenheim, Darmstadt 98 (both 15) and Fortuna Düsseldorf (14) could pass again.
Video assistant turns on
But the trend speaks for Hanover: five of the last six games have won 96, most recently there was a 1-1 draw in the Lower Saxony derby against Eintracht Braunschweig.
Sandhausen started stronger in both halves on Friday, but Hannover was more effective. Teuchert hit after a good movement in the penalty area, Nielsen with a head, Muroya with power.
Referee Wolfgang Haslberger pointed to the point twice within eight minutes for foul play on Christian Kinsombi, but he withdrew the second decision after looking at the video images.