Eintracht Braunschweig have defeated 10-man Hannover 3-0 to climb within two points of safety at the bottom of the Bundesliga.

The hosts took the lead on 14 minutes courtesy of Dominick Kumbela, who was in the right place at the right time to tap home a rebound from close range.

Damir Vrancic almost doubled his side's advantage shortly after when he latched onto a pass inside the area, but he failed to get his effort on target.

The Lions added their second after 21 minutes following a through-ball which found Havard Nielsen, with the striker making no mistake and unleashing a shot past Ron-Robert Zieler.

Andre Hoffman's dismissal on the hour mark made matters even worse for Hannover, and Karim Bellarabi added goal number three late on to secure a vital victory for the relegation-threatened side.