Hannover and Stuttgart moved out of the Bundesliga's bottom three courtesy of slender victories on Sunday with Leon Andreasen's goal against Cologne the talking point of the day.
The pair occupied the automatic relegation zones going into the final games of the weekend but Hannover secured back-to-back wins courtesy of Andreasen's hugely controversial goal in the 1-0 success.
Seven minutes before the break, Christian Schulz nodded Hiroshi Kiyotake's corner into the path of the waiting Andreasen via a slight touch off goalkeeper Timo Horn.
The Hannover man appeared to use his arm in helping the ball across the line - much to the frustration of the hosts who protested vehemently to referee Bastian Dankert without success.
Home coach Peter Stoger offered Dankert his glasses at half-time, before the Cologne boss watched on as Hannover moved 14th.
Stuttgart joined Hannover in moving out of the relegation spots as Daniel Didavi's second-half winner eased pressure on under-fire manager Alexander Zorniger in their 1-0 victory over Ingolstadt.
Amid late Ingolstadt pressure, Serey Die's late dismissal made life difficult for the hosts but Zorniger's men held firm to register a first home league win of the season.
