A game of two halves: SV Elversberg shows its strength after half-time to kick off the remainder of the season

After a chequered and rather fortunate first half, in the second half SV Elversberg turned the game around and ultimately scored a 2:2 draw against a strong Hanover team to gain a point in the second half of the 2. Bundesliga season. 

The game is an easy one to explain. Hannover 96 were just 1:0 up after a strong first half. Rochelt and Jäkel turned the game around before Tresoldi equalised again. ‘It is similar to the first leg, when I said after the final whistle: “OK, I’m happy we got a point”. After a not particularly good first half, we were happy to be just 0:1 down’, was SVE coach Horst Steffen’s summary.

But a better second half brought with it hopes of a win: ‘When we turned the game around, we were of course hopeful that we could emerge victorious. But this was an evenly matched game, and ultimately I am happy that we have gained another point against Hanover. The boys could still improve a little, but this is still a good result against a strong opponent’, the SVE coach added. 

SV Elversberg often boasts the lightness that the Hanover team lacks. This feeling of lightness is something that Horst Steffen also wants to instil in his players: ‘We have always said that football is just a game and the boys should enjoy playing it. We started playing this sport as children because it was fun, and can now do it as a career. Even at the times when things were not going so well, we kept that feeling of lightness, whatever league we were in. We can only delight stadium audiences if we feel the same – and this delight is always something that we want to inspire again and again.’

Captain Luca Schnellbacher summed things up after the game: ‘We are already celebrating the fact that we have made it to the second division and want to stay.’ This is clear every single weekend.