The 1. FC Kaiserslautern celebrated a successful comeback in the 2. Bundesliga, winning against Hannover 96 with 2:1.

With heart and passion, 1. FC Kaiserslautern celebrated a fantastic second division comeback after four years and thoroughly spoiled Hannover 96’s start to the season. The Red Devils won the opening match of the 2nd Bundesliga season on Friday evening against the Lower Saxons, who were considered candidates for promotion, with 2-1 (1-0). In front of 40,579 spectators at the Fritz Walter Stadium, Mike Wunderlich gave the home side the lead in the 11th minute, which was cancelled out by substitute Havard Nielsen (80th). Kevin Kraus (90.+2) turned the Betzenberg into a madhouse with his late winning goal.

From the start, the Palatinate team relied on fight and passion, which did not suit Hannover for a long time. The visitors had much more possession, but only had a chance to score in the second half and made a few defensive mistakes.

Such was the case with FCK’s opening goal, which 96 defender Julian Börner involuntarily initiated with a misplaced back pass to goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler. Terrence Boyd jumped in between and served Wunderlich, who slotted the ball into the empty net. At 36 years and 112 days, the veteran replaced Wolfgang Funkel as the Red Devils’ oldest league goalscorer.

In an intensely fought match, the first change was made after less than half an hour on both sides. FCK’s newcomer Ben Zolinski, who had been performing well up to that point, had to leave the pitch injured and was replaced by Kenny Prince Redondo. For Hannover, Gael Ondoua was sent off early after the midfielder was on the verge of being sent off. He was replaced by Fabian Kunze.

Nothing changed in the course of the game for the time being. The home side let the Lower Saxons come, but had the better chances. A shot from distance by Redondo was blocked by Zieler with great difficulty. FCK keeper Andreas Luthe, on the other hand, was only tested for the first time after an hour.

The veteran, who was brought over from Union Berlin in the summer, proved to be a safe backstop and made a brilliant save from Sebastian Kerk’s free-kick with a quarter of an hour remaining to prevent a possible equaliser, which he was unable to prevent a little later. Nielsen scored from eight metres after Cedric Teuchert had done the groundwork. In the end, however, it was the home side who rejoiced when Kraus scored from a corner kick.