Prib gets 96 back in the game

While a few of the Reds were away on international duty, the 96-players left at home used the opportunity to gain some match experience against FC. St. Pauli. Captain and returning from injury Steven Cherundolo was in the starting eleven, as well as youth players Niklas Teichgräber and Valmir Sulejmani. The game didn’t start the way the Reds would have wanted and within the opening 20 minutes, they found themselves behind. St. Pauli striker Lennart Thy didn’t miss the opportunity and fired the ball past 96-goalkeeper Markus Miller for the lead. Ratsche had found space in the area before laying across for the striker to leave Miller no chance from close range. The visitors stayed on top and soon found their second when Markus Thorandt headed in unmarked. There was time for Edgar Prib to score an important goal though, as the midfielder swung in a free kick just before the break.

Sulejmani scores equaliser

In the second half, Cherundolo and Co. had been brought off as the Reds looked to turn the game around. Miller made a fantastic save to deny Christopher Nöthe before the bar stopped Thy from getting a second. After a burst of chances for the guests, Sulejmani scored the equaliser just after the hour mark. “There were a lot of young players involved that we wanted to have a look at after they trained with us this week. The game was a good conclusion to that,” said manager Mirko Slomka before adding, “Going down seemed to shake us into action. We set ourselves the goal of turning the game around in the second half, and we were more dominant and comfortable, which helped us get the equaliser.”

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Hannover 96: Miller - Cherundolo (46’ Dierßen), Avevor (46’ Ballas), Marcelo, Teichgräber (46’ Pietler) - Stindl (72’ Ernst), Schmiedebach (86’ Wolf) - Prib, Schlaudraff, Huszti (67’ Herrmann)- Sulejmani (67’ Capin)

FC St. Pauli: Himmelmann, Schindler, Mohr, Thorandt, Schachten, Ziereis, Nehrig, Rzatkowski, Bartels, Nöthe, Thy

Goals: 0-1 Thy (21’), 0-2 Thorandt (38’), 1-2 Prib (45’), 2-2 Sulejmani (66’)

Attendance: 1,500