Hannover let win slip as relegation worries thicken
Hanover - Hannover 96 wasted an opportunity to move out of the bottom three after being held at home to a 1-1 draw by SV Werder Bremen.
Wastefulness punished
Lars Stindl gave the rejuvenated Reds the lead in the first half and Michael Frontzeck's men appeared to be on course for victory until Zlatko Junuzovic broke their hearts with a late leveler.
Hannover came into the game with their backs to the wall, but a short training camp in a local cloister appeared to have soothed them spiritually and removed all of their negative thoughts – only positivity was oozing from their game. Jimmy Briand nearly crowned a dominant opening before Stindl showed him how it should be done, giving Hannover a deserved 21st-minute lead. Hiroshi Kiyotake hit the post moments later, although the linesman's flag was raised anyway.
Koen Casteels kept out Briand's next chance in the second half before clutching the ball to his chest from a Salif Sané header. Hannover were eager to get a second, but instead they conceded in the most predictable of manners. After conceding a free-kick 25 yards from goal, the Hannover fans held their breath as set-piece specialist Junuzovic lined up his shot and consequently curled his effort past Ron-Robert Zieler. It denied Hannover a first win of 2015 and left them languishing inside the bottom three.
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