Hannover fight back to draw with Twente

Hannover 96 recovered from two goals down to draw with FC Twente in their opening match in UEFA Europa League Group L.

Cruising towards their tenth win in 11 games courtesy of Willem Janssen and a heavily deflected Nacer Chadli free-kick, Steve McClaren's team were pegged back by Artur Sobiech midway through the second half. The comeback was complete for Hannover six minutes later when Peter Wisgerhof put through his own net.

Steve McClaren's side had already threatened before taking the lead, Luc Castaignos darting in behind and stabbing Dušan Tadić's pass wide. If that was a warning to the Bundesliga visitors it was one they did not heed. Six minutes later, a flowing move which involved Tadić and Roberto Rosales ended with Chadli freeing Janssen with a cute reverse ball. On the stretch, the midfielder turned the ball under the sprawling dive of Ron-Robert Zieler.

Buoyed by their 200th goal in UEFA competition, Twente went in search of another, Tadić glancing wide the first of three presentable opportunities before the break. The Serbian international then lifted the ball on to the roof of the net, having been played in by Chadli, before Castaignos lobbed wide.

Chadli finally left his mark on proceedings nine minutes into the second half with a free-kick which took a sizeable deflection off Jan Schlaudraff in the Hannover wall. Little had been seen of Die Roten as an attacking force yet, out of nowhere, they were given a lifeline by Sobiech on 67 minutes, the substitute finishing instinctively after Denny Landzaat failed to clear Konstantin Rausch's long-range strike.

Suddenly Twente were nervous and, with the visitors pressing, the pressure of Sobiech prompted Wisgerhof to slice a cross into his own net. In a frantic finish, Castaignos was twice denied by the legs of Zieler.