1899 in 2-2 draw with FSV

In fact, every single member of the squad was given a run-out against FSV, as Stani looked to freshen up his squad for what promises to be a gruelling second half of the season. In front of a crowd of approximately 700, it was a Benno Möhlmann's Frankfurt that started the game on the front foot. After some early pressure on Hoffenheim's admittedly makeshift back line, Mike Wunderlich broke the deadlock to put FSV in front on nine minutes. TSG soon came back into the game, however, and were level just after the half-hour mark when Roberto Firmino slid in, despite suspicions that he was standing in an offside position (31).

For the start of the second half, Stani made five changes, brining on Koen Casteels, Boris Vukcevic, Edson Braafheid, Kevin Conrad and Tobias Weis in place of Daniel Haas, Sebastian Rudy, Peniel Mlapa, Dominik Kaiser and Sejad Salihovic. To begin the second half, most of the game was played between the two penalty areas, and both sides struggled to create chances. But in the 53rd minute, 1899 managed to fashion a chance to take the lead. Weis lifted a lovely pass into the path of Andreas Beck, who stormed down the right and sent a dangerous cross towards goal. There was Hoffenheim's leading scoring this season, Vedad Ibisevic, to tap in from a few yards out for a real poacher's finish.

However, the lead was not to last long, as FSV found an equaliser of their own just three minutes later. Karim Benyamina embarked on a solo run, found his way into the box and then managed to beat Casteels in the TSG goal (56). Shortly after the hour mark, Stani threw on the rest of his substitutes. Knowledge Musona, Sven Schipplock, Joseph-Claude Gyau, new signing Sandro Wieser and Tobias Strobl came on, while Ryan Babel, Williams, Ibisevic, Firmino and Jannik Vestergaard were allowed to retire the showers early.

It finished two each, but despite the draw, Stanislawski was pleased with the performance his players had put in: “It was a tidy performance from us. During the winter break we've placed a lot of emphasis on fitness work, so it was normal that the boys were a little tired. We'll busy ourselves with fine-tuning our game after the friendly with St Pauli.”

Hoffenheim's final warm-up game before taking on Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga on January 21st is this Sunday against FC St Pauli in the Millerntor stadium in Hamburg, none other than Stanislawski's old stomping ground, as both a manager and a player.

Line-ups

1899 Hoffenheim:

Daniel Haas, (Koen Casteels, 45), Andreas Beck (C) (Tobias Strobl, 65), Sebastian Rudy (Tobias Weis, 45), Ryan Babel (Knowledge Musona, 65), Daniel Williams (Sandro Wieser, 65), Peniel Mlapa (Sven Schipplock, 45), Vedad Ibisevic (Sven Schipplock, 65), Dominik Kaiser (Edson Braafheid, 45), Roberto Firmino (Joseph-Claude Gyau, 65), Sejad Salihovic (Boris Vukcevic, 45), Jannik Vestergaard (Kevin Conrad)

FSV Frankfurt:

(1st half): Patric Klandt, Björn Schlicke, Nils Teixiera, Mike Wunderlich, Alexander Huber, Marc Heitmeier, Samil Cinaz (C), Sven Müller, Macauley Chrisantus, Chadli Amri, Zafer Yelen

(2nd half): Michael Langer, Manuel Konrad, Daniel Gordon, Nils Teixeira, Karim Benyamina, Markus Hofmeier, Jutae Yun, Marcel Gaus, Momar N'Diaye, Yannick Stark, Tobias Henneböle

Goals:

0-1 Wunderlich (9)

1-1 Firmino (23)

2-1 Ibisevic (53)

2-2 Benyamina (56)

Cards:

Yellow Cards: Schlicke (56)