Elversberg triumph: Asllani hat-trick secures historic away win in Hanover!
SV Elversberg managed what was probably their best ever second-half performance during their time in the second division, but remained restrained in their celebrations due to Jessic Ngankam’s serious injury.
On Saturday, SV Elversberg achieved another milestone in their remarkable 2. Fußball-Bundesliga journey with an impressively injection of energy after the change of ends. Against long-standing club Hannover 96, coach Horst Steffen’s team fought back after falling behind at half time and gained a well-earned 3:1 (0:1) win after a Fisnik Asllani hat-trick. However, euphoria regarding this win was overshadowed by the serious injury suffered by Hannover attacker Jessic Ngankam, meaning that the match in the Heinz von Heiden Arena ended on a sad note.
It is rare for the Elversberg camp’s cheers to be so cautious after an away win against a contender for promotion – but in Hanover, this was an expression of genuine sympathy. The final part of the game brought an unfortunate scene where Ngankam was seriously injured while attempting to clear the ball away from Elversberg. The diagnosis: a broken tibia and fibula.
The reaction on the pitch spoke volumes about the team spirit between the two teams. Players on both sides formed a protective wall around the injured striker as he spent several minutes being treated on the pitch. Paul Stock, who was involved in the scene, disappeared into the locker rooms as soon as the match was over. SVE‘s coach Horst Steffen was understanding about his protégé’s dismay:
Paul was sat in the locker room looking abashed. He really took it to heart. No-one was celebrating in the locker room. We are all shocked. I can say that none of our boys would have done something like that on purpose. It was an extremely unfortunate situation.
Hat-trick scorer and eventual match winner Fisnik Asllani also had some clear words of sympathy after the game:
We are all thinking of Jessic. We all know that something as bad could easily happen to any of us. I hope that he will be able to return to the pitch soon
Apart from its dramatic end, for various reasons this match marked a very special chapter in SVE’s still new second-division history: because it was here, in Hanover, that the adventure began almost two years ago with their first ever 2. Bundesliga match. The fact that Saturday in the Lower Saxony capital also marked their 250th official match under coach Horst Steffen’s leadership made this encounter even more important.
Steffen made a few changes from the lineup for their dominant 6:0 defeat of Regensburg. Damar, who had been suspended after yellow card, returned to the starting formation, whilst Carlo Sickinger began on the bench.
The Elversberg team struggled in the first half. Although a brisk game developed with good pace on both sides, SVE failed to develop their attack. A free kick by Damar (17th minute) and a scoring attempt by Asllani (34th minute) were the only times they got near their opponent’s goal.
The home team were significantly more single-minded and took the lead in the twelfth minute. A corner sent the ball to Phil Neumann, who fired it in from up close to put the score at 1:0. Hannover then kept the pressure piled on: Muroya only just missed a shot (23rd minute) and Elversberg’s goalkeeper Nicolas Kristof managed a strong save against Gindorf (32nd minute). By half time, everything seemed to be in the home team’s favour – which coach Steffen also thought was a fair outcome: ‘The first half was Hannover’s. Our moves were very careless. Hannover started strongly and repeatedly closed off our passing routes. We also failed to perform as we should have in head-to-heads.’
Whatever was said in the Elversberg dressing room during half time, it made all the difference. The team returned to the pitch with significantly more determination and attacking spirit and put their opponents under pressure right from the outset. Within just a few minutes, Sahin (48th minute), Damar (49th minute) and Asllani (50th minute) had fantastic opportunities to score.
And then, in the 55th minute, it finally happened: after a rapid counter-attack, Asllani elegantly lobbed the ball over the incoming keeper and into the net – 1:1! This marked the start of a dominant second half for Saarland.
Opportunities came every few minutes. Zimmerschied (62nd), Asllani again (63rd/66th minutes) and Baum (67th/71st) all failed to convert excellent chances. But then, in the 78th minute, Asllani mustered up his courage from nearly 20 metres out and turned to fire a shot deep into the goal and secure a well-earned 2:1 lead.
However, this double did not mark the end of his impeccable performance: in the ninth minute of extra time, he put the icing on the cake to make it 3:1 – his first hat-trick as a professional player. ‘I think this is one of the best days of my life’, Asllani said to ‘Sky’ after the match, visible moved. He kept the match ball – to mark his hat-trick – as a memento:
The ball is going straight to my parents.
The importance of family to this Berlin native with Kosovan roots is also clear from the little details: he has pictures of his parents and siblings on his shin pads. ‘They always support me – whatever, wherever, whenever’, he emphasised.
As impressive as their performance was in the second half, Elversberg will have to deal with two painful gaps in their upcoming home game against Fortuna Düsseldorf: Semih Sahin and Lukas Petkov were both awarded their fifth yellow card and are therefore suspended. Central defender Maximilian Rohr also had to leave the pitch with an injury – an exact diagnosis has not yet been made. Florian Le Joncour replaced him in the second half.
Despite these staffing issues, the euphoria is still tangible – even if deliberately muted by the club. Captain Robin Fellhauer summed up the team’s mood: ‘Anyone who says that they don’t want to play in the Bundesliga is lying. Every football player wants it. But that does not mean that we are putting pressure on ourselves. We are having a lot of fun and enjoying every win.’
Despite this success, coach Steffen remains objective with a sober analysis:
We did things much better in the second half, we had some very good opportunities just after the start. And with each new one, we felt like we could really do it. After we equalised, we were determined to keep playing for the win.
He answered questions about the potential for promotion in his usual self-effacing manner: ‘Anything could happen, we don’t know where things will go. The match today was fantastic and I am confident we will have other good matches. Every match we stay up at the top makes this season even more successful than it already was for us.’
Saturday brings a game against Fortuna Düsseldorf, a direct competitor for the promotion spots. SVE will have to adapt once again, but their self-confidence levels should be high after their coup in Hanover. In any case, this game has proven one thing: SV Elversberg are not just a serious candidate in the battle for promotion – they can also respond to major setbacks with strength and character.
And anyone who has experienced Fisnik Asllani on a day like this will understand that this team offers not only quality, but also that certain something that can turn good teams into exceptional ones.