AUSTRALIA goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak has apologised after his split-second slip led to his club VfB Stuttgart losing an important match and the chance to go top in Germany’s second tier.

With time almost up, the Socceroos shot-stopper brought down Hanover 96’s striker Kenan Karaman in the area, but then paused, thinking he had given away a penalty.

In the meantime, Hanover’s attack snapped up the loose ball and Felix Klaus was presented with a simple tap in on 87 minutes to seal their 2-1 away win.

The home defeat cost second-placed Stuttgart the chance to regain top spot in Germany’s second division, having been relegated from the Bundesliga last season, while Hanover are third in the table.

“I trod on his (Karaman’s) foot and thought that it was definitely a penalty, which is why I stopped,” explained Langerak, who joined Stuttgart in July 2015 after five years with Borussia Dortmund.

“That split second made the difference.

“My mistake cost us points and I’m really sorry for the boys.”

Stuttgart captain Christian Gentner was furious with his team for the slip.

“If we want to go up, then we can’t concede things like that,” fumed the ex-Germany international.

But Stuttgart coach Hannes Wolf had sympathy for Langerak’s plight.

“Of course, it was a human error,” said the 35-year-old Wolf.

“He (Langerak) wanted to show that he hadn’t committed a foul and so lost his focus on the ball, because he was worried the referee would whistle for a penalty.

“Football is something decided by moments like this and that particular moment wasn’t for us.”