Lower Saxony derby ends goalless

Hannover and Eintracht Braunschweig delivered only the second goalless draw of the Bundesliga season on Friday.

Hannover and Eintracht Braunschweig delivered only the second goalless draw of the Bundesliga season in a Lower Saxony derby which proved to be an anti-climax. The anticipation was high of a game which was last played in 1976, but in spite of Hannover's attacking efforts, Braunschweig managed to get away with precisely what they had come for - a point. Mame Diouf spurned the best chances on a night when the headlines will be taken for what happened outside the stadium. The anticipated crowd disturbances were kept away from the arena with the police having to use water cannons to keep the rival fans apart, with only a few fireworks and flares spoiling the atmosphere inside the Niedersachsenstadion. One of those fireworks was thrown onto the field early on, and it provided arguably the only really bright moment on the pitch. Hannover spent most of the game on the attack, and had most of the possession, but Braunschweig had come with the clear intention of spoiling their night by frustrating them. Rarely did Torsten Lieberknecht's men venture forward in search of a goal themselves with Mirko Boland's 25th-minute effort practically the only shot on Ron-Robert Zierler's goal. Daniel Davari was kept much busier at the other end, although most of Hannover's shots did not even find the target, Diouf the biggest culprit. Within the first half an hour, the Senegalese forward had missed three chances, the biggest of which in the 26th minute really should have given the Reds the lead. From seven yards out, and unmarked, he headed wide of goal and then minutes later he shot over with only Davari to beat. Leonardo Bittencourt shot straight at Davari just before the break and then Edgar Prib stole the Braunschweig goalkeeper of possession on the stroke of half-time, although he was unable to keep the ball in play and direct it towards the open goal. Sebastien Pocognoli shot wide early in the second half before Diouf finally hit the target, but he found Davari as Braunschweig proved impenetrable.