Playing against an opponent who introduced a new coach during the week is not an easy task, as is well known: Hannover 96 got to feel that against SV Sandhausen, under the management of Alois Schwartz. H96 keeper Zieler also played his part.
96 coach Jan Zimmermann relied on a new personnel after the 3-0 win in Kiel: captain Franke replaced Krajnc in central defense.
Sandhausen’s new coach Alois Schwartz made six changes to the starting eleven compared to the 3-1 defeat against Heidenheim: Drewes came in for Rehnen between the posts. The injured Diekmeier made way for Ajdini. Keita-Ruel, Esswein, Ouahim and Ritzmaier also came into the starting eleven for Soukou, Kinsombi, Sickinger and Okoroji.
Sandhausen got off to a good start under their new coach. The guests acted courageously and wanted to play forward. Hannover was unimpressed, however, and after a mini-break, the game was balanced and fast-paced. But when the first big chances on both sides came directly the goalkeepers in the spotlight: First it was Zieler (20.), then his counterpart Drewes (21.), who parried with a good reflex.
After the back-and-forth between the two teams, there was a minor upset in the Sandhausen penalty area: Ernst went down, but the VAR let Patrick Alt’s decision stand and also decided against a penalty whistle (28.).
H96 and SVS fail at the aluminum
Both teams got into dangerous spaces and were able to create more opportunities: For Ritzmaier the crossbar was in the way (30.), for Ernst the post (34.). Until the break, the home side took more control and Sandhausen pulled back. Hinterseer shot from a turn just before the break, but Sicker cleared on the line (45.+2) and the score went into the break 0-0.
In the second half, Kerk (48th) and Beier (56th) missed early on to make it 1:0. Sandhausen could hardly create any chances, stood deep and waited for counterattacks. But the Hannover team also struggled to convert its slight superiority into a goal. Not much more happened until the final phase, before a few more goals were to follow.
Höhn and Keita-Ruel ice-col
After Dehm almost put the ball in his own box (72nd), Höhn gave the visitors the lead after a corner (73rd). Keita Ruel did not ask twice after Zieler’s blunder and made it 0:2 (78.). The double strike of the guests came at this time of the game somewhat surprisingly, since actually H96 was at the pressure.
Kaiser with the tiebreaker
The home side quickly digested the 0:2 deficit: substitute Kaiser fired the ball into the net for 1:2 and initiated the final offensive (82nd). Sandhausen defended and fought off one attack after the other. For the home side, Muslija (85th) and Weydandt (90th +6th) each missed the possible late equalizer.
Thus, the new and old SVS coach (Schwartz was already at Sandhausen from 2013 to 2016) was able to secure a three-pointer in his first game. Hannover, on the other hand, suffered a setback after two wins in a row.
