Survival Game almost up for Nürnberg
Nürnberg - 1. FC Nürnberg slipped to a sixth successive defeat that leaves their already frayed hopes of Bundesliga survival hanging by a solitary thread after losing 2-0 at home to Hannover 96.
Black day for Nürnberg
Der Club desperately needed a victory going into this game but were visibly nervous as soon as the ball was rolling, a state of affairs the visitors ruthlessly sought to take advantage of. They did so with just five minutes on the clock when Mike Frantz carelessly gave the ball away in midfield, allowing Szabolcs Huszti to initiate a rapid counter-attack and tuck in the opener from close range after an unselfish past from Artjoms Rudnevs.
The afternoon soon went from bad to worse for the side coached by Roger Prinzen after the break when Manuel Schmiedebach made it 2-0, rounding Raphael Schäfer to score for the first time in 120 Bundesliga matches. From then on Hannover shifted down a gear and were content to compactly defend their lead.
The lack of fighting spirit shown by Nürnberg was alarming given their present plight and they never looked like scoring in a must-win game. Their last hopes of securing the relegation play-off spot next week in an already-daunting fixture away to FC Schalke 04 also suffered a huge blow as Timothy Chandler, Javier Pinola and Marvin Plattenhardt all picked up bookings that leave them suspended.
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