Hannover wins the fiery derby and jumps to third place

Hannover 96 won the Lower Saxony derby against Eintracht Braunschweig in the German second division and rose to third place in the relegation zone by defeating the bottom team. Stefan Little’s side won 2-0 (2-0) in a heated match in round 12. With 21 points, the 96th is only ahead of its northern rivals FC St. Pauli (26) and Hamburger SV (24).

Fabian Kunze (12th place) and former national player Marcel Halstenberg (42nd place / foul penalty) scored for Hannover, who will face St. Pauli in the big showdown on Friday. Braunschweig’s interim coach, Mark Fitzner, suffered his second defeat in the second match, and after the fifth defeat in a row, Eintracht (five points) is now seven points behind the 16th relegation position. In addition, BTSV captain Yannis Nikolaou lost to the yellow and red (57th place). .

42,000 spectators in Hanover watched a game broken in two ways. The match started late due to the use of fireworks, but was then stopped twice more, and events on the field were tense and fighting. However, the 96 clearly had the advantage and got off to a better start. When Kunze scored the opening goal, Braunschweig goalkeeper Rune-Thorben-Hofmann did not look good.

After a foul by Saulo DeCarli on Lewis Schwab, Halstenberg safely converted the penalty for his third goal of the season. Eintracht fans responded by launching fireworks towards the grass, forcing referee Sascha Stegemann to interrupt and intervene in the second half. At the latest, when Nicolau was sent off, the match was decided, characterized more by skirmishes than separation.