Frustrating draw for Hannover and Stuttgart
Hanover - Hannover 96 and VfB Stuttgart picked up the result neither of them really wanted in a 1-1 draw at the HDI Arena.
Late drama
Christian Gentner gave the visitors the lead, but the hosts hit back through Lars Stindl, who saw a red card late on together with Martin Harnik, as frustration got the better of both teams.
Given their precarious situation and recent results, Stuttgart were unsurprisingly reticent to begin with, allowing Hannover much of the ball. Georg Niedermeier cleared the first spot of danger with a great sliding tackle to deny Joselu an opportunity early on, but the Stuttgart defender lost out later, this time with Joselu failing to take his chance as he lobbed over. Stuttgart did have a few good chances of their own, with Gentner's effort deflected over and Alexandru Maxim having a shot blocked, before Stindl missed a one-on-one with Sven Ulreich.
Stuttgart put the Hannover defence under pressure in the second half, and took a deserved lead when Gentner drove home after the hosts had failed to clear their lines. The Stuttgart captain was leading by example, but it was his Hannover counterpart Stindl who brought Hannover level, producing a composed finish past Ulreich from Joselu's header. Joselu went close to a winner, but the game ended on a sour note when Harnik and Stindl were sent off following a needless altercation.
Line-ups and statistics
