Draw in Fürth friendly

Ralf Rangnick was missing 17 of his regular players. As well as those on International duty, Marvin Compper, Chinedu Obasi, Demba Ba, Timo Hildebrand and Andreas Beck were all forced to watch from the sidelines. Once again the football took a back seat, as players, officials and fans all participated in a minute silence for Robert Enke. Both teams wore black arm bands in memory of the deceased goalkeeper.

Uninspired first half

In the opening 45 minutes, neither side really showed the crowd what they were capable of. The game was fought in the midfield and both teams struggled to create meaningful chances. The home side's first chance came after four minutes. Following a good cross from Sararer toward the Hannover goal, Daniel Hass managed to deal with the danger and clear adequately. Hoffenheim looked dangerous as Philipp Klingmann's show flew goalward soon after. In the 29th minute, Hass was once again equal to a shot from Müller. The final quarter of an hour in the first half belonged to Hoffenheim. Marco Terrazzino was brought into the game through a perfect ball by Maicosuel, but squandered the best chance of the half (33'). Maicosuel then had another good shot which Fürther goalkeepr Fejzic managed to parry on 43 minutes.

Goalfest after the break

After a goalless first half, Schahin finally took the lead for the hosts in the 57th minute. The substitute Juri Neumann equalised for Hoffenheim on 72 minutes with a low shot. It looked like the game had been won when Hrgovie retook the lead for the home side (72'). That was until the 83rd minute when Deniz Aytekin brought down Jonas Hofmann in the box. Maicosuel duely slotted the penalty away to bring the score line to 2-2. In the final minute Marco Schäfer almost clinched the winner for the visitors with a long range effort. "Today we put out a strong U23 side. That shows we've developed really well in the last couple of years. I'm really pleased with how the game went. The lads did really well," insisted coach Ralf Rangnick.

Greuther Fürth - 1899 Hoffenheim 2:2 (0:0)
1899 Hoffenheim 1st Half.:
Haas - Klingmann, Neupert, Nilsson, Eichner - Zuculini, Luiz Gustavo, Groß - Jabiri, Terrazzino, Maicosuel.
1899 Hoffenheim 2nd Half.:
Özcan - Schäfer, Schlottner, Nilsson, Hofmann - Zuculini, Nyenty, Neumann - Kienast, Grassel, Maicosuel.
Goals: 1:0 Schahin (57'), 1:1 Neumann (72'), 2:1 Hrgovic (79'), 2:2 Maicosuel (83'). Referee: Deniz Aytekin. Attendance: 600.