Hannover win at last, Frankfurt misery continues
Hanover - Hannover 96 ended a seven-game winless streak with a 2-0 home victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in Sunday's early Matchday 14 contest between two of the top-flight's recent strugglers.
All Hannover early on
A goal in each half from Mame Diouf and Szabolcs Huszti sealed the points against an Eintracht side themselves now nine games without a win, who also had Martin Lanig sent off early in the second half. The result moves Hannover up to ninth on 17 points, while Frankfurt are now just above third-bottom SC Freiburg on goal difference ahead of the latter's game at Mönchengladbach.
After an edgy opening by both parties, Hannover swiftly assumed control of proceedings in terms of possession, tackling and, from the ten-minute mark onwards, scoring opportunities as well. Marcelo headed just over from a corner and a flurry of set-piece situations followed for the hosts as Frankfurt were increasingly reduced to conceding fouls to relieve the pressure. The Eagles then got a first sniff of goal from a corner of their own, Carlos Zambrano just failing to connect with it inside the six-yard box.
The focus of the action promptly returned to the other end of the park and with 25 minutes on the clock, Hannover got the breakthrough which by now already seemed overdue. Edgar Prib shrugged off Zambrano and teed up a precise ball from the left for Diouf, who powered it past guest custodian Kevin Trapp from close range. It was the Senegal international's third goal of the season, all of them coming by way of a header and on home turf.
And then there were ten
Huszti just failed to get on the end of Diouf 's through-ball almost immediately on the back of that, before Artur Sobiech smashed home keeper Ron-Robert Zieler's punt-out past Trapp from long range, only for the effort to be ruled offside. With the half entering its final phase, Eintracht then belatedly shook themselves awake and after a half-chance for Tranquillo Barnetta and a Martin Lanig header wide – with a vicious near-miss from 96ers skipper Leon Andreasen sandwiched in between – Vaclav Kadlec got in a shot on the turn following Lanig's involuntary tee-up from a corner, which Prib just managed to block on the line.
Frankfurt started into the second 45 showing altogether more bite than they had in the first – a little too much in Lanig's case twelve minutes in, as the holding midfielder picked up his second yellow card of the contest for a late tackle on Sobiech and the visitors were left a man as well a goal down. Midway through the half, Veh sent Marvin Bakalorz into the fray for his Bundesliga debut in place of Takashi Inui, who had been having a thin time of it against his compatriot Hiroki Sakai.
Huszti seals it
Minutes later, the Eintracht coach was himself sent up to the stand for over-vociferously protesting about a free kick awarded to Hannover. Huszti promptly rubbed salt in the vsiting coach's wounds, curling the ball perfectly over the wall and into the top corner for his sixth goal of the season, making it an awful long way back now for the decimated visitors. To their credit, Frankfurt continued to battle away and the final half-chances of the contest were theirs, but 2-0 it finished and Eintracht's long wait for a first win at Hannover since 1987 continues.
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