1. FC Köln hosted Hannover 96 in a Sunday matinee at the RheinEnergieStadion, with the visitors desperate for points in their poor start to the season.

Köln however had contrasting fortunes coming into this one, with 14 points from eight games including four wins. That put them in sixth place, with this clash against H96 another winnable game.

They won their last game 3-0 away at Schalke, ending a run of six straight wins for their opponents in the process, so they will have been confident of getting a result in this one.

Hannover had lost five of their first eight games, and had just five points to show for their efforts. Michael Frontzeck has to be feeling the pressure, but he inherited a side that went on a remarkable slide at the end of the 2014/15 season. 

They did however win their last match 1-0 at home to Werder Bremen before the international break, with Sané getting the decisive goal.

A tough start to the game

The opening stages of the game were expectantly very scrappy, with the visitors happy to get men behind the ball and crowd the midfield area.

Köln had the first real break of the game as Leonardo Bittencourt had space to run at the left byline, but his pull-back was fired behind for a corner in the nick of time.

In the 12th minute, Bittencourt stole in at the near post as Jonas Hector fired a ball in to a wonderful area, though his flick went just wide across goal as the hosts began to threaten.

Two minutes later, Hector floated in a free kick which forward Anthony Modeste flicked on, but on to the roof of the net much to the relief of Zieler.

Up the other end, Karaman found space to shot outside the box after cutting on his right; it went  way over. He pulled up after the shot and immediately requested a substitution with a hamstring problem, replaced by Felix Klaus.

Modeste fired over from another Bittencourt feed on 25 minutes as the game began to open up.

Effzeh almost took the lead in the 33rd minute as they countered quickly up the field and Zieler was forced into a strong save from Marcel Risse's attempt.

A controversial opener

Completely against the run of play, Hannover took a controversial lead in the 38th minute courtesy of Leon Andreasen.

A corner came in from Hiroshi Kiyotake, taking a deflection towards goal and forcing Horn into a desperate save. However, he could only parry to Andreasen, who seemed to use his forearm to force the ball in.

Köln players surrounded the officials, adamant the goal should not stand, yet Dankert waved them all away and Hannover took a surprising lead.

Hannover had another chance as Kiyotake made an enterprising run towards goal, squaring to Felix Klaus who had a shot blocked behind.

The home side grew frustrated and tempers became a bit frayed, so Peter Stöger will have been happy to hear the half time whistle to get his team together and regroup.

For Frontzeck, it was a welcome change as a piece of luck had gone his side's way. The order from him during the break must have been more of the same, as they had been dominated but hadn't yet conceded.

The visitors emerged with a second substitution as Oliver Sorg was replaced by Hiroki Sakai in seemingly a tactical change.

The controversy continues

Hannover threatened early in the second half as Sörenson made a vital interception to stop a cross from Andreasen.

There was more controvery a few minutes later as Yuya Osako went down in a heap with Christian Schulz doing the same. The latter had a bloody mouth, and on replay Osako was lucky to avoid a red card as he clearly used an elbow.

Köln made a double switch in the 58th minute; Pawel Olkowski and Yannick Gerhardt making way for Simon Zoller and Milos Jojic.

There was panic for the visitors just before the hour as Bittencourt found space inside the area to receive the ball, however his square pass was well cut out.

Anthony Modeste did well to reach a long cross at the back post in the 65th minute; Zieler saving comfortably though as he failed to generate any power to send it back the other way.

Billy Goats can't quite get the crucial goal

There was another handball shout against Sané in the 70th minute as he blocked a cross from Jonas Hector. The Köln players felt he used an arm, it would have been harsh, but it could have evened things up.

Things began getting very heated as Modeste was at the centre of three incidents. Firstly, he was shoved by Zieler after they clashed following a cross, then Modeste kicked out at Schulz who fouled him, but made not contact, and finally he clashed with Zieler again. It seemed a red card was imminent at some point.

Having only been on the pitch for about a minute, Philipp Hosiner should have levelled the game as a hopeful through ball deflected off Christian Schulz and put him through on goal. Zieler was equal to his effort though, sticking out a leg and directing it behind for a corner.

Klaus shot straight at Horn up the other end, serving as a reminder of the counter threat despite Hannover sitting deeper.

Zieler made a brilliant save to deny a powerful Modeste header from the penalty spot that was heading in the top right corner.

From the resulting corner, Sörenson really should have levelled the game with a free header at the near post. He couldn't keep it down, and time was running out for the Billy Goats.

The summary

That would prove to be the last chance as Hannover held on for a massive three points.

They climb out of the bottom three with a crucial victory in a game they could be forgiven for not expecting anything from.

For Köln, they have fallen on the banana skin, and it could prove to be a real momentum killer after a stellar start.

The hosts miss a chance to climb into fourth place, instead staying in 6th, while Hannover move 14th with their second win.

Next up for the Billy Goats is the impossible task of Bayern away. For Hannover, they return home to face Eintracht.