Christian Schulz netted a brace as Hannover came from behind to win their first Bundesliga game since the end of November and give themselves some hope of avoiding relegation with a 2-1 win at Stuttgart.
Hannover, seeking to end a sequence of eight straight defeats, took the game to their in-form hosts and were unfortunate to fall behind in the 18th minute to a Tobias Werner goal as he met Alexandru Maxim's free-kick.
Hannover replied through their captain Schulz, who headed Hiroshi Kiyotake's free-kick in off the underside of the crossbar in the 32nd minute.
Schulz embodied all of Hannover's determination to avoid relegation when he brought a save out of Przemyslaw Tyton with a header and then followed up to earn Hannover their first win under coach Thomas Schaaf.
ends