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TSG seal first win
It was a positive start for Hoffenheim, as the home side showed the same spirit and drive that they demonstrated in the early stages at Freiburg last week. Usami and Joselu looked comfortable and confident in possession but their opponents, Hannover 96, stood firm and made it difficult for Babbel's men to find any openings. After 20 minutes of sparring though, the game sprung into life. Beck gave the ball away for TSG on the right hand side and allowed Rausch to put a dangerous cross into the area. Matthieu Delpierre felt under more pressure than he was and sent a bullet header past his own goalkeeper to give 96 the lead. Despite this, Hoffenheim showed great determination and equalised immediately. A pass down the left flank saw Johnson flick the ball round Steven Cherundolo before dinking an effort around the on-rushing Ron-Robert Zieler. After a minute of end-to-end action, the game slowed back down as Hoffenheim tried to convert their first half dominance into a further goal. Hannover had offered hardly anything going forward and looked weary from their midweek European trip. TSG tried desperately to find a way through 96's defence but couldn't add to the scoreline before the half time whistle.
Hannover failed to shrug off their tiredness in the early stages of the second half and TSG were once again in the ascendency. Rudy fired in a free kick from just outside the left-hand corner of the box but it was well tipped over by 96 goalkeeper Zieler. Hoffenheim started to push forward in search of that pivotal second goal. Joselu found himself one-on-one with Zieler but the former Real Madrid man couldn't pull the trigger quickly enough and Felipe and Cherundolo closed him down. Hannover couldn't break out of their own half and Hoffenheim kept pressing in hope of achieving their first win of the season. Beck broke into the box on the right hand side and found an unmarked Eren Derdiyok, but the substitute was denied a goal by a fantastic diving save from Zieler. It looked like TSG might miss out on what would have been a deserved three points but with eight minutes left on the clock, they found that vital second goal. The newly arrived Volland found fellow substitute Sejad Salihovic at the back post with a fantastic cross, and the Bosnian headed the ball over the line despite Zieler's save. Volland's impact was brilliant and the importance of the goal was clear for all to see. With time running out, Hoffenheim survived a scare when Casteels spilled a cross. Determined not to give the away side any chance, TSG then pushed forward once more. Again Kevin Volland was at the heart of the attack and after some superb individual work, he found his way through the 96 defence and showed great composure to square the ball to the on-rushing Daniel Williams, who slotted into the empty net to make sure of the result.
TSG will celebrate this victory but will also have one eye on a busy set of fixtures ahead in the Bundesliga. Hoffenheim travel to VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday night before hosting FC Augsburg on Saturday 29th September. After such an encouraging 90 minutes, Markus Babbel will be hoping to turn this victory into a good set of results for his side.
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim: Casteels – Beck, Delpierre, Compper, Johnson – Williams, Rudy – Vukcevic, Roberto Firmino (63' Salihovic), Usami (81' Volland) – Joselu (71' Derdiyok)
Hannover 96: Zieler – Cherundolo, Eggimann, Felipe, Rausch – Stindl, Schmiedebach (74' Sakai), da Silva Pinto, Nikci (84' Abdellaoue) – Schlaudraff, Sobiech (44' Ya Konan)
Goals: 0-1 Delpierre o.g. (26'), 1-1 Johnson (27'), 2-1 Salihovic (82'), 3-1 Williams (90+1')
Yellow cards: Williams, Beck – Felipe, Eggimann
Attendance: 23,575
Referee: Marco Fritz
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