First Win Under Wagner: Hannover Wins the Bottom-of-the-Table Clash

Hannover 96 pulled itself out of its slump with a tremendous effort. One day after parting ways with sporting director Jonas Boldt, the Lower Saxony side won the basement battle against Dynamo Dresden—now at the bottom of the table—2-1 (0-1) despite falling behind early.

Goals by Husseyn Chakroun (54') and Marcel Hartel (61'/penalty kick) not only secured 96’s first victory under new coach Sandro Wagner. They also prevented the promotion contender from slipping to last place in the 2nd Bundesliga.

Dresden had taken the lead as early as the 11th minute through Nicolai Rapp. In the second half, however, the visitors collapsed. Friedrich Müller was also shown a yellow-red card in the 65th minute.

Wagner’s substitutions make an impact

37,200 spectators witnessed two completely different halves. After falling behind 0–1 early on, Hannover looked completely unsettled, while Dynamo appeared very solid. Former Hannover 96 player Jonas Sterner even had a chance to make it 2–0 for the visitors in the 41st minute.

Wagner made two substitutions at halftime, and his team’s performance improved significantly as a result. Benjamin Källman (51st) and Hartel (52nd) had the first two chances of the match even before halftime. After Chakroun’s well-deserved equalizer and an immediate shot off the post by Alexander Rossipal (55th), the Dresden players also played a big part in the turnaround.

The penalty kick was preceded by a serious mistake in build-up play. After two fouls in just six minutes, defender Müller was sent off early. A third Hannover goal by Källman (76th) was disallowed following a review by the video referee.