As expected, Arminia Bielefeld continued their determined play and fought Hannover 96 to a 1-1 draw. It might not be so clear looking at the statistics but throughout the year Bielefeld have shown the ability to close off the most challenging opponents with sturdy defensive play and that was the message of today.Dieter Hecking will take great pride in the work of Morten Jensen, who defied the idea of being a "number 3", fit in perfectly and showed great leadership. With a mandate to be "aggressive" and to force errors, Jiří Štajner prodded for a opportunity early but goalkeeper Dennis Eilhoff was up to the task. Finally just past the half-hour the Czech Republic capped Štajner fought off Markus Schuler and headed-in Arnold Bruggink's corner from close-range to give Die Roten the 1-0 lead.
Returning from the break Hannover 96 continued directing the run of play but equally Die Arminen stern refusal to provide a reasonable scoring chance. Then, just before the hour mark, Bielefeld caught Hannover 96 over-committing and launched a long ball effort Rüdiger Kauf who then provided the scoring chance to Artur Wichniarek, with the veteran easily capitalized on to bring the match even. Sensing a chance at three points Die Arminen jumped forward in the attack with Thorben Marx coming close with twenty minutes remaining. Mikael Forssell was brought in late in an effort to find the winning strike but it was fruitless and the match ended with a deserving point for each side.
The single point leaves Hannover 96 with seventeen points and in thirteenth position just behind Eintracht Frankfurt before heading to the winter break.
