Monchengladbach win, Hannover draw in Europa League

MADRID, SPAIN – MARCH 29: Mame Diouf (R) of Hannover 96 strikes the ball besides Mario Suarez of Club Atletico de Madrid during the UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg match between Club Atletico de Madrid and Hannover 96 at the Vincente Calderon stadium on March 29, 2012 in Madrid, Spain.

Berlin, Nov 23 – Igor de Camargo’s brace secured Monchengladbach’s late win over a 10?man AEL Limassol whereas Hannover were held to a goalless draw by Dutch side Twente Enschede at the fifth match day of the Europa League.

Cypriot side AEL Limassol needed a win to maintain their chances and they almost caught the host’s defence flat footed Thursday as Luciano Bebe failed to control a pass with only goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen to beat, reports Xinhua.

Limassol looked more threatening from the start as Monchengladbach staged a poor passing and suffered several turnovers in the midfield.

With beginning of the second half the “Foals” picked up the pace to set the visitors defence under pressure. Thus, Juan Arango and Patrick Herrmann were able to create goal?scoring opportunities for the home side.

At the 75th minute Luciano Bebe weakened his side as he was sent off with a red card following a professional foul to Patrick Herrmann.

The “Foals” sniffed the chance to wrap up a victory as substitute Igor de Camargo, who came from the bench four minutes earlier, exploited a through ball by Havard Nordtveit to break the deadlock, with a shot inside the far post in the 79th minute.

De Camargo was not done with the scoring as he added a second goal to the scoreboards by header in the dying minutes of the match. The 2?0 victory secures Monchengladbach a place in the UEFA Europa League knockout stage.

The “Foals” occupy second position, behind Fenerbahce and followed by Marseille and Limassol.

“Its not all good but we advanced and that was the main objective,” Monchengladbach coach Lucien Favre said.

Elsewhere, Hannover shared points with Twente Enschede following a goalless draw at AWD Arena.

Twente’s Rasmus Bengtsson ensured the only highlight of the match with his dismissal owing to a professional foul in the closing period of the match. Hannover, who had their tickets for the knockout stages, stay atop the standings in Group L followed by Levante, Twente and Helsingborgs.