Fast-paced opening 45

The task proved to be more difficult than originally thought – 96’s second friendly match of pre-season was against seventh-tier side TSV Krähenwinkel/Kaltenweide from the north of Hanover. Even in the first ten minutes, it was clear that the match was not going to be a walkover like the Reds’ 14-0 win over TSV Berenbostel two days earlier. TSV Krähenwinkel/Kaltenweide’s players were playing bold, attacking football and had the game’s first three chances. After two good attempts, the seventh-division side almost made their third count with only the post saving Hannover 96 from going behind in the tenth minute.

The Reds picked themselves up quickly though and took the lead one minute later. Lars Stindl wound up a strike from 18 yards and gave the keeper no chance as it zipped past him into the net. In a fast-paced match, the hosts looked to recover quickly and in the 23rd minute, Tim Linnemann took advantage of communication problems between new signing Florian Ballas and goalkeeper Markus Miller to grab a much celebrated equaliser. The match remained lively up until the break, with the only chance for either side a shot put wide of the goal by Szabolcs Huszti in the 38th minute.

Schlaudraff provides the winner

After several changes for both teams at the interval, Jan Schlaudraff took less than ten minutes to grab Hannover’s second goal of the day. A bit of individual brilliance opened up the chance for himself and he made no mistake to give the Reds a 2-1 lead. There were no more changes in the scoreline before the final whistle, although 96 had some good chances. Substitutes Kasumovic and Schmiedebach each had opportunities but the hosts defended valiantly to ensure Hannover could only celebrate a tight victory. TSV even had a chance themselves five minutes before the end, but youth keeper Konstantin Fuhry made a good save to deny them another equaliser.

Four-day training camp up next

After the final whistle, 96-manager Mirko Slomka made no secret of the fact that he didn’t expect such a tight result, although gave credit to the seventh-tier side: “TSV Krähenwinkel/Kaltenweide demanded everything from us today. The lads did a lot of running and fought hard.” The manager then looked ahead to the upcoming training camp in Glückburg, where internationals Ron-Robert Zieler, Artur Sobiech, Sébastien Pocognoli and Salif Sané will join up with the squad: “We’re looking forward to having those players back with us. Our team is slowly getting back together.” The first activity of the four-day training camp will be a friendly match against sixth-division side Schleswig 06 on Sunday at 16.00 CET.

Hannover 96: Miller (46’ Fuhry) - Avevor, Ballas, Schulz (46’ Gökdemir), Pander - Nikci, Prib (57’ Behrens), Stindl (46’ Schmiedebach), Huszti (46’ Hoffmann) - Schlaudraff (57’ Kasumovic), Bittencourt (46’ Kadah)

Goals: 0-1 Stindl (11’), 1-1 Linnemann (23’), 1-2 Schlaudraff (53’)
Attendance: 1,600