Hannover’s Mirko Slomka calms his side down after a 2-0 loss against the Billy Goats
A controversial evening at Cologne marred Hannover’s chances against FC Koln, allowing the Billy Goats to register a 2-0 win. Die Roten were disallowed a clear goal by the linesman, inviting trouble from players after the game.
Both Hannover and Koln locked horns on Sunday, October 16, at RheinEnergieStadion with Koln winning by a comfortable 2-0 margin. Lukas Podolski’s brace proved enough to register an important win, taking the Billy Goats to tenth on the table with 13 points.
Podolski opened the scoring in the 24th minute but Hannover made a decent comeback despite being away from home. The Reds made a strong statement with an equalizer, which was disallowed by the linesman. The replays confirmed that the referee had
made a mistake in penalising Didier Ya Konan for being in an offside position.
The Hannover manager tried to restore calm in the dressing room by giving encouraging remarks at the end of controversial evening. Though the Reds lost, Slomka’s men weren’t short of fight and were probably unlucky, having to end up on the losing side.
While talking to reporters after Saturday’s game, Slomka mentioned, "The players were very, very, very incensed. They feel that they have had a point stolen from them. We need to somehow bring some calm back in.”
He further added, “We have had a clear goal ruled out. I don't think that the linesman can make a decision like that because the referee was better placed and he should have dealt with the situation better. I have heard afterwards that the player is alleged
to have disturbed me, but that was not the case so we were lucky."
Slomka took charge of Die Roten in 2010 after serving as an assistant from 2001 to 2004. The tactician, who enabled his side to a fourth placed finish last season, has so far led them to four wins from nine league games.
Die Roten are currently seventh on the table with 15 points, two points clear of FC Koln, who are tenth with 13 points.
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