Hannover 96 suffered a 3-0 defeat at home to Hertha BSC on Sunday in a Second Bundesliga match.
The opening stages saw Hannover pressing forward, with Rochelt testing Hertha goalkeeper Ernst early on. Ernst was again called into action to deny Pichler’s volley in the ninth minute.
Hertha began to threaten in the 21st minute when Cuisance set up Reese, but his curler narrowly missed the target. Hannover continued to create chances, with Winkler clearing a Ghita header off the line in the 39th minute. The first half ended goalless.
Shortly after the restart, Winkler gave Hertha the lead, leaving Matsuda behind and coolly slotting the ball past Noll in the 51st minute.
Hannover almost gifted Hertha a second goal in the 59th minute when Chakroun’s misplaced pass was intercepted by Eichhorn, but Noll thwarted the attempt.
Reese’s cross found Kownacki’s head in the 68th minute and the Polish forward nodded the ball in from seven meters, extending Hertha’s lead. A subsequent effort by Ghita in the 80th minute was denied by Winkler on the goal line.
Schuler, who had come on as a substitute, secured the victory for Hertha with a direct finish on a Cuisance cross in the second minute of added time. This marks Hannover 96’s first defeat of the season.
