German progress
August 26, 2011
Hanover 96 drew 1-1 with Sevilla on Thursday, leaving the aggregate score 3-2 - enough to propel Hanover into the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. Hanover's last European campaign was at the UEFA Cup in 1992.
Mohammed Abdellaoue scored first for Hanover in the 23rd minute but an own goal by Emanuel Pogatetz threatened to disrupt the team's progress. The Spaniards had numerous chances in a fairly open game, but were never able to get the goal they needed pull even with Hanover over two legs.
German fans got more good news earlier Thursday after Schalke defeated HJK Helsinki 6-1. The 6-3 aggregate victory assured Schalke a spot in the group stage as well.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was the man of the match, with four of the six goals for Schalke. His first, from the penalty spot, came 15 minutes in and was soon followed by an answer from HJK's Teemu Pukki. But then Huntelaar scored once more before the half.
The second half became a rout with Huntelaar scoring twice and Kyriakos Papadopoulos also putting one away. Finally, Julian Draxler pounded the final nail in Helsinki's coffin in the 82nd minute.
Schalke and Hanover will learn their group stage opponents in a match in Monaco on Friday.
Author: Stuart Tiffen
Editor: Matt Hermann