Hannover 96 1 - 1 VfB Stuttgart - Stuttgart hold on for point

Posted Sunday, March 01, 2015 by PA

Hannover and Stuttgart both had a man sent off as their at the Niedersachsenstadion finished in a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

Christian Gentner gave bottom-placed Stuttgart the lead, but Lars Stindl levelled for the hosts.

Stindl was then given his marching orders, with Martin Harnik also seeing red as tempers flared at the death in Lower Saxony.

Leon Andreasen put his injury problems behind him as he lined up for Hannover for the first time since the reverse fixture in Stuttgart, but there was little for either set of fans to get excited about early on, with both sides short on confidence.

Stuttgart were the first to come out of their shells and, after delivering a few warning shots before the interval, they raised their game at the start of the second half to take the lead in the 52nd minute.

Hiroki Sakai's headed clearance only went as far as Stuttgart captain Gentner and he flashed a powerful shot past Ron-Robert Zieler.

Edgar Prib almost levelled immediately as the game opened up, with chances now falling at both ends.

And Hannover captain Stindl levelled 20 minutes from time.

Joselu squared the ball with his head and Stindly tucked it in from close range.

The goal gave Hannover hope and they spent much of the final 20 minutes on the attack, although they were unable to find a way through Stuttgart's massed rank of defenders.

Stindl was given his marching orders for a second yellow card as he got involved in a melee, which also saw Harnik shown a straight red in an ugly finish to the match.