Sandro Wagner picked up where he left off in 2015, as he notched up both goals in SV Darmstadt 98's 1-2 win at the HDI-Arena. The defeat meant that Hannover 96 handed Thomas Schaaf a loss in his first game in charge, despite Hugo Almeida opening the scoring early on.
Hannover strike first
It was an even start but Hannover would edge ahead in the 10th minute through Almeida. The veteran forward took advantage of Adam Szalai's miss-kick, after a great cross from Hiroki Sakai. The Japanese raced onto a long diagonal and picked out the Hoffenheim loanee, with Almeida's reactions and finishing coming to the fore. He slammed the ball home from 15 yards, leaving Christian Mathenia helpless.
Despite a largely mundane period that followed, there was one moment of real quality. An Almeida cross was whipped into the centre of the box and met by Szalai, whose header was well-saved by the outstretched arms of Mathenia. Hannover would be made to rue that missed opportunity, with the visitors getting level midway through the half.
Darmstadt draw level
Marcel Heller's pace and persistence started the move, as he rounded the stranded Sorg and left him wanting with a turn of pace. The Darmstadt winger picked out Jan Rosenthal at the back post, who headed down to Sandro Wagner. Their top goalscorer made no mistake from six yards, chesting the ball down and volleying at goal in one swift movement before wheeling away to celebrate.
The final shot of note in the first-half was from the unlikely source of Peter Niemeyer. The defensive midfielder, not known for his attacking ability, took aim with an audacious 20-yard lob, which looked destined to find the back of the net. Unfortunately for Darmstadt, his chip hit inside of the post and the half-time whistle sounded soon after.
Darmstadt take the lead, Hannover fight back
The visitors started off on the front foot in the second half and were unfortunate not to be ahead after Konstantin Rausch's effort was parried by Ron-Robert Zieler. The very minute afterwards saw them edge in front for the first-time, after Rosenthal had a header come back off the post. It looked like the chance had gone but quick reactions from Wagner tidied up the loose ball and gave Darmstadt a slender lead.
Adam Szalai headed narrowly over the bar from close range and Salif Sané's powerful drive was blocked well by Mathenia, as the hosts aimed to take something from Thomas Schaaf's first competitive game in charge. The did, however, have Zieler to thank for a stunning save from Rosenthal's curling effort.
Schuster's side hold on
After that, the intensity was high but quality gradually began to ebb out of the match. That played into the hands of Dirk Schuster and his defensively sound back-line, who were able to on to the final whistle and claim another important win. They are now seven points clear of the relegation zone, while Hannover slipped into last place - there is plenty of work to be done for Schaaf.