Hannover, Berlin share points in German Bundesliga

Berlin's Valentin Stocker snatched his side a late 1-1 draw on the road against Hannover at the opener of the 28th round in German Bundesliga on Friday.

Berlin denied Hannover the first victory in 2015 as Valentin Stocker cancelled out Christian Schulz's opener eight minutes later. It is the 12th consecutive winless game for Hannover meanwhile Berlin extend their unbeaten run to six games.

Both sides staged a goalless first half in which Hannover dictated the pace whereas Berlin got a foothold into the game as the match progressed.

However, both teams lacked in penetration thus Hannover's Lars Stindl tried to overcome Berlin's defense with long-range efforts. The midfielder came close at the 50th minute when he rattled outside of the post.

Yet, the 47,000 visitors at the HDI Arena had to wait until the 75th minute before Hannover's Christian Schulz broke the deadlock. Berlin failed to clear a corner by Hiroshi Kiyotake from the box, allowing Christian Schulz to poke home the 1-0 lead from very close range.

It looked like Hannover had sealed their first win in 2015 but Berlin's Valentin Stocker had an ace in the hole when he restored parity with a sideways scissor-kick at the 83rd minute.

With the result, Hannover climb on the 14th position with 29 points for now, yet, they sit only four points off a relegation play-off spot. Meanwhile Berlin remain on the 11th position with 33 points.

"We played well and fought back today. Thus, we remain undefeated and take one point back home," Berlin coach Pal Dardai said.

The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: front-runners Bayern Munich face Frankfurt, relegation threatened Hamburg see second placed Wolfsburg, third placed Monchengladbach encounter Dortmund, Schalke host Freiburg, Mainz clash fourth placed Leverkusen and newly promoted Paderborn meet Augsburg. Endi