Moritz Stoppelkamp scored a goal of the season contender as SC Paderborn continued their unbeaten start to life in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 victory over Hannover on Saturday.
The hosts were in charge from the first whistle, and came close to taking an early lead when Mario Vrancic's curled effort was tipped over by Ron-Robert Zieler.
A rare Hannover chance fell to Leonardo Bittencourt midway through the first-half, but his speculative volley was easily saved by Lukas Kruse.
Zieler was forced into action once again just before the break to deny Paderborn as Suleyman Koc became the latest player to test the goalkeeper with a low strike.
The early signs in the second half suggested that it could be a frustrating afternoon for the home side as Hannover's defence made life difficult for Paderborn's creative players.
However, the deadlock was finally broken in the 71st minute when Uwe Hunemeier worked himself enough space to pick out Elias Kachunga, who calmly stroked home the opening goal.
The drama was far from over, though, as Kruse came to the rescue for Paderborn to flick Christian Schulz's header over the crossbar in the final minute of normal time.
Paderborn wrapped up the points in style as Stoppelkamp found the back of the net with an outrageous effort from just outside his own box, after Zieler had ventured forward looking for a late equaliser.
Callum Mulvihill
