The away record of 1. FC Kaiserslautern remains flawless: In Hanover, the Palatinate catch up from an initial deficit and make the 3-1 perfect shortly before the end. The direct promotion place is within reach.
1. FC Kaiserslautern has impressively underpinned its ambitions to advance into the Bundesliga. The promoted team won the second half of the season at Hannover 96 after an increase in performance 3:1 (0:1) and has their sights firmly set on the top positions. In fourth place, FCK (32 points) is four points behind a direct promotion place. "It was a decent game, we didn't allow much," said FCK trainer Dirk Schuster at Sport1: "We wanted to step it up a notch in the second round, and we succeeded."
Julian Niehues (49') and Terrence Boyd (66') turned the game around for Kaiserslautern, who were initially behind after Derrick Köhn's goal (17'). Hannover (28) is in seventh place after their second home defeat of the current season. The final point was set by Philipp Hercher (90.7).
The Lower Saxony had determined the first half in front of a first-league crowd of 36,800 spectators. However, they benefited from a mistake by FCK goalkeeper Andreas Luthe when they scored the opening goal: The veteran let Köhn's poorly placed shot slip through his fingers. Shortly thereafter, Cedric Teuchert (30th) almost increased.
FCK only woke up after the break - and then struck ice cold. Niehues headed in just after the restart before Boyd volleyed a powerful combination to put the visitors ahead. Shortly before, the American had collided with Teuchert, and the Hanoverian striker had to be replaced injured. In the closing stages, Hannover pushed for an equaliser. However, the guests defended attentively and switched quickly when they won the ball. Hercher used a counterattack to score the third goal.
