2. Bundesliga: Fürth stun Hannover to move off bottom spot | OneFootball

Goals from Noel Futkeu and Jannik Dehm either side of a Maurice Neubauer equaliser proved enough for Fürth to take all three points from the Heinz-von-Heiden-Arena, stunning their promotion-chasing hosts in the process.

Hannover made their presence felt from the outset, pressing their visitors at every opportunity. The hosts had the ball in the net just after the ten-minute mark, only for Stefán Teitur Thórdarson to be correctly flagged offside after tapping into an empty net.

Christian Titz’s side continued to ask almost all the attacking questions while Fürth defended resolutely, but it was the visitors who struck first in the 33rd minute. A long, hopeful ball forward caused all sorts of problems in the Hannover defence, allowing Noel Futkeu to outmuscle Ime Okon under the bouncing ball inside the area before firing a volley past Nahuel Noll to make it 1-0.

Fürth almost doubled their advantage before the break when Noll lost track of a simple back pass, allowing the ball to trickle towards his own goal as the home crowd held its breath. Fortunately for Hannover, the goalkeeper scrambled back just in time to clear off the line with Futkeu closing in. The visitors nonetheless took their 1-0 lead into half-time.

Hannover made the perfect start to the second half, levelling the match just five minutes after the restart. Half-time substitute Husseyn Chakroun delivered a precise ball to the back post for Maurice Neubauer, who squeezed a finish past Silas Prüfrock at his near post to make it 1-1.

However, just before the hour mark Fürth restored their lead to frustrate the hosts once again. Futkeu laid the ball off to the onrushing Jannik Dehm just inside the area, and the full-back took a touch before curling a superb effort over the helpless Noll to score against his former club and make it 2-1 to Heiko Vogel’s side.

Hannover were then handed a golden opportunity to draw level when Reno Münz brought down Hayate Matsuda inside the area in the 72nd minute. Enzo Leopold stepped up from the spot and opted to go straight down the middle, but Prüfrock stood his ground brilliantly to keep the penalty out and preserve Fürth’s lead.

The hosts pushed relentlessly for an equaliser in the closing stages, yet the league’s leakiest defence held firm this time to secure a vital victory in the context of the 2. Bundesliga relegation battle.

The win extends Fürth’s unbeaten run to three matches and lifts them out of the automatic relegation places into 16th. For Hannover, meanwhile, it represents a costly missed opportunity, as they fail to move level on points with second-placed Darmstadt and remain in fifth.