1-2 in the basement battle: Dynamo drops to the bottom of the standings

Bottom of the table instead of a breakthrough: Dynamo Dresden is now last in the 2. Bundesliga after a 1-2 (1-0) loss in the relegation battle against Hannover 96. Against the previous last-place team, Dynamo coach Thomas Stamm’s squad once again squandered a lead and remains winless on the road—and, with two wins, two draws, and six losses, is right in the middle of the relegation battle. “Our position in the standings won’t be decisive until Matchday 34,” Stamm told Sky, “the second goal was very unfortunate, and then the yellow-red card made things difficult.”

In front of 37,200 spectators at the Heinz von Heiden Arena, the Saxons put in a spirited performance in the first half, only to play just as poorly in the second half as the hosts had in the first.

Early Lead for Dynamo

Against completely unsettled hosts—who had gone winless in four competitive matches under new coach Sandro Wagner, suffering three losses—Nicolai Rapp put Dynamo ahead in the 11th minute following a corner kick. But in a match that was generally lacking in quality, further big chances were few and far between. Former Hannover player Jonas Sterner fired a shot at the goal guarded by Leo Weinkauf half an hour later, but Hannover’s goalkeeper was up to the task.

After the break, the hosts’ play took on a more defined shape. Hannover had its clearest chance early on through Marcel Hartel in the 52nd minute, and two minutes later, Husseyn Chakroun equalized. Dresden was now completely off its game, even though Alexander Rossipal had hit the post.

After a botched build-up in his own penalty area, Friedrich Müller fouled opponent Chakroun inside the box; Hartel confidently converted the resulting penalty kick (61st minute). 

Müller Sent Off

Just five minutes later, young player Müller was forced to leave the field early after receiving a second yellow card for another foul, further compounding the Saxons’ defensive woes. Down a man, Dresden fought off the looming defeat, benefiting from the fact that a goal by Benjamin Källmann (76') did not stand up to the VAR review. Dynamo was unable to score again.