Hannover 96 is still on the upswing in the second division.
Lower Saxony won 2-0 (0-0) at home against Holstein Kiel on Friday evening and drew level with the storks on points.
Sebastian Kerk (65th minute) and Niklas Hult (72nd) scored in front of 9,200 spectators for coach Christoph Dabrowski's team, who thus managed a successful dress rehearsal for the quarter-finals in the DFB Cup.
Then on Wednesday, RB Leipzig will be making a guest appearance in the HDI Arena.
In an even game, both teams had chances to take the lead before the break.
96 missed a triple chance in the 35th minute through Sebastian Stolze, Kerk and Maximilian Beier.
Benedikt Pichler could have scored for the guests (45th).
After the change of sides it was the Hanoverians who took advantage of their chances.
Kerk scored through Linton Maina and Hult after a nice combination.
A little later, Hult made everything clear by extending a shot from Mark Diemers with a heel into the goal.
Aue collapses in the final minutes
Erzgebirge Aue suffered a setback and gave up their first win since November 20, 2021.
The Saxons, where sports director Pavel Dotchev now also acts as coach, only managed to draw 3:3 (0:1) at SC Paderborn.
Dotchev's team started furiously and created chances every minute.
But the goal fell on the other side.
Srbeny headed in from a free kick.
However, the guests did not let this unsettle them, but remained courageous.
Nazarov converted the penalty after a handball by Jamilu Collins with nerves of steel and thus gave the starting signal for a furious phase for Auer.
Zolinski counterattacked and Nazarov increased it again with a penalty kick.
But Paderborn didn't give up.
Kemal Ademi (89') and Marcel Correia (90'+2) made the draw with two late goals.
With 16 points now, Aue jumped from last to penultimate place.
Nine points are missing for the relegation rank.