Missed chance
October 2, 2011
Mohammed Abdellaoue scored a hat-trick Sunday, leading Hanover to take a 3-2 victory that dashed Werder Bremen's hopes of drawing level on points with Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.
The Hanover striker converted a second-minute penalty, added a second in the 38th and completed his hat-trick on the hour after Bremen pulled one back through Marko Arnautovic, who was subsequently sent off with 12 minutes to go.
Claudio Pizarro gave Bremen hope with a second goal but Hanover held on for the three points.
Bremen remain second in the soccer league on 16 points, three points behind Bayern and level with Borussia Mönchengladbach.
"We didn't play well," said Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf. "We simply weren't mentally ready to do the right things. We didn't achieve what we set out to do."
Schalke defeat hosts Hamburg
Meanwhile in Hamburg, Dutch striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored both goals for Schalke in a 2-1 win against the hosts, marking a successful first league game for Schalke's new coach Huub Stevens. Stevens has now embarked on his second spell at the Gelsenkirchen club.
Huntelaar headed Schalke in front in the 13th minute and got his heel to the ball in front of goal to notch the winner in the 73rd after Mladen Petric had levelled for Hamburg eight minutes before the break.
The victory puts Schalke fourth in the table, one ahead of Hanover, with both teams on 15 points. It was the eighth home game without a win for Hamburg, who are stuck at the bottom, level with Augsburg on four points.
Author: David Levitz (AP, dpa)
Editor: Ben Knight