Hannover 96 celebrated an important away win in the promotion race of the 2nd Bundesliga. The Lower Saxony team won 3-1 at Karlsruher SC and moved up to third place in the table, at least temporarily.
Mustapha Bundu (18th) gave the guests the lead, Fabian Schleusener equalized shortly before the break (44th). Substitute Kolja Oudenne (82′) and Daisuke Yokota converted a penalty kick in the tenth minute of stoppage time to score coach Christian Titz’s team to victory.
“We knew what was at stake and really wanted to win. I’m just happy that I was able to help,” said Oudenne after his extremely important goal.
Karlsruhe’s disappointed coach Christian Eichner analyzed at the Sportschau microphone: “It was more of a draw game. But there were one or two little things that ended up in the other locker room today.”
54 seasons of Bundesliga membership – 30 for Hannover 96, 24 for KSC – came together in the Wildpark. The guests from Lower Saxony are aiming to be back in the top league next season. But they took a controlled approach, gave KSC more possession in the early stages and concentrated on clean defensive work.
When the first good opportunity to become dangerous arose, 96 struck immediately. Waniss Taibi set up perfectly in the penalty area, Bundu finished precisely and scored his second goal of the season.
The KSC needed a few minutes to recover from this setback. But then he became more active again. Philipp Förster missed the first good chance to equalize, but Schleusener then did better. The striker received a cross technically cleanly and shot the ball onto the inside post, from which it jumped into the goal.
So we went into the break with a fair draw.
Excitement about the penalty whistle
The second half got off to a slow start again. As is so often the case, the referee and video assistant provided entertainment. Referee Konrad Oldhafer awarded a penalty after Stefan Thordarson headed into Marcel Franke’s spread arm. There were violent protests from Karlsruhe, which only subsided when the decision was overturned – because of an offside position in front of the questionable scene.
Almost ten minutes later the hosts wanted a penalty because Marvin Wanitzek fell in the penalty area. But after a quick check, the referee’s decision remained on the field.
The 80th minute of the game had not yet started when both coaches had already made their five substitutions. Someone who had already arrived in the second half steered Hannover onto the winning path. Oudenne dribbled into the penalty area and shot in from a tight angle to make it 2-1.
Yokota scores in the replay
Yokota made the decision by converting a penalty. Thordarson initially failed. but Karlsruhe’s goalkeeper Hans Christian Bernat had left the line too early. The penalty had to be retaken, Yokota took over instead of Thordarson and scored.
Hannover 96’s 31st season in the Bundesliga became much more likely thanks to the ultimately deserved away win.
Karlsruhe against Darmstadt, Hanover against Münster
Karlsruher SC welcomes another promotion candidate, SV Darmstadt 98 (1:30 p.m.) on Sunday afternoon. Hannover 96, on the other hand, are hosting bottom-placed Preußen Münster at the same time.
