Dominant from the start
Manager Tayfun Korkut put his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation for the match. The injured goalkeeper Samuel Radlinger was replaced by Timo Königsmann, who was the only player to play the full 90 minutes. Hannover first looked dangerous in front of ex-96 goalkeeper Marcel Maluk’s goal in the seventh minute. Christian Pander and Lars Stindl created the biggest chances for the Reds. In the ninth minute, the home team had their first chance, when Björn Gassmann narrowly missed the goal. Following this, the Reds had more possession and played attractive football, but fell short before reaching the goal.

Two goals in the first half
The wait was over in the 25th minute. Leonardo Bittencourt was fouled and awarded with a free kick. Pander curled the ball into the six yard box where Lars Stindl’s header scored the first goal of the match. Shortly before halftime, Leon Andreasen’s shot from 20 yards made the score 2-0, which was assisted by our captain Stindl. 

New faces give the game a boost
There were ten changes made to the Reds during halftime. Goalkeeper Königsmann was the only player to remain on the pitch in the second half. 96 remained the most dominant team and carried on creating chances. The biggest chance was given to Artur Sobiech, who missed a penalty in the 48th minute. The next two goals were scored within the space of two minutes. After a good build-up by Jan Schlaudraff, Sebastian Ernst scored third goal of match, before Sobiech made it four with his goal in the 61st minute.

Ernst puts the crowning glory on his performance
In the defensive midfield, Ernst put in a massive effort and his impressive play paid off. He was also the last 96-goal scorer. Kenan Karaman’s attempt hit the post, but Ernst managed to strike the ball into the back of the net. Shortly after, SV Ramlingen/Ehlershausen scored a consolation goal when Phillip Blume scored from a free kick. In the last minutes of the game, both teams could’ve scored another goal, but neither had any success in doing so. 

Sebastian Ernst was not just on top of things in this situation.

Manager Korkut pleased with performance
“Like the last friendly, we came with a good approach and had a good structure to our play. I am very happy with both halves. We had a lot of U23s in the squad today who all did their duties well and got the job done. Our tactics came across well.”

Line-up: 

SV Ramlingen/Ehlershausen:  Maluck - Yüksel (20. Weindl), Gieseking (20. Lübow), Ehlert, Gebreslasie (79.Kues), Dag, Ankour, Gassmann, Yeboah, Borwosky, Schneider. 

Hannover 96: Königsmann – Pander (46. Wilton), Schulz (46. Blume), Marcelo (46. Anton), Rankovic (Pläschke) – Andreasen (46. Ernst), Pietler (46. Hirsch), Prib (46. Schlaudraff), Stindl (46. Karaman), Bittencourt (46. Sulejmani) – Joselu (46. Sobiech). 

Goals: 0-1 Stindl (25.), 0-2 Andreasen (41.), 0-3 Ernst (59.), 0-4 Sobiech (61.), 0-5 Ernst (65.), 1-5 Blume(ET 70.)

Other knowledge: Maluck saved Sobiech’s penalty (48.)

Attendance: 2,260