Fürth face relegation

Sitting at the bottom of the Bundesliga table, Fürth proved unable to salvage their winless record at home on Friday, losing 2-3 to their Hannover guests.

Although Fürth controlled much of the match in the first half, they proved unable to follow through and capitalize on numerous opportunities to score, with Felix Klaus and Edgar Prib both coming close but failing to hit the mark in the first 10 minutes of play.

"This defeat is very, very hard to accept," said Fürth coach Frank Kramer. "We played a really good match and played better football than our opponents. But we were punished by merciless efficiency and for our own lack of efficiency today."

Though Hannover contributed little during the match's opening, Mohammed Abdellaoue managed to put the guests ahead in the 36th minute. But Nikola Djurdic equalized for the hosts shortly before halftime.

With the scoreline at 1-1, Andre Hoffman returned Hannover to the lead with a header. Although Djurdic managed to equalize once again for the hosts, Sergio da Silva Pinto finally sealed the game for Hannover in the 87th minute.

"We had a little bit of luck," Hannover coach Mirko Slomka said. "Fürth gave us a lot of difficulties. We had a completely newly formed four-man defensive line, which wasn't always well coordinated."

Should Augsburg secure a point against Stuttgart on Saturday, then Fürth will be relegated. On May 11, Fürth still have a chance to salvage their winless record at home, in a match against Freiburg.

slk/bk (dpa, SID)