Although Borussia Dortmund made it into the round of 16 of the DFB Cup, the performance at second division Hannover is not convincing. Last year’s finalist Freiburg escaped the early exit very late, while Werder Bremen and Karlsruher SC failed on penalties.
SC Paderborn – SV Werder Bremen 7: 5 (2: 2, 2: 0) after penalties
Bundesliga promoted Werder Bremen missed out on the round of 16 of the DFB Cup despite catching up with the strong second division club SC Paderborn and had to accept a severe setback. In front of 15,000 spectators, coach Ole Werner’s team lost in a dramatic game 4:5 on penalties. After extra time it was 2: 2 (2: 2, 2: 0). The runners-up in the 2nd division thus remains on the road to success.
Felix Platte (22nd) and Sirlord Conteh (43rd) scored the goals for the hosts. Bremen initially equalized through Leonardo Bittencourt (65′) and Mitchell Weiser (84′). But SC goalkeeper Leopold Zingerle, who saved against Bittencourt, became the celebrated cup hero for Paderborn on penalties. After losing the first round last season, the six-time cup winner failed again early in the competition. In the run-up to the game, the suspension of Werder striker Marvin Ducksch caused a stir. According to the club, he missed “most of the mandatory regeneration measures” last Sunday and did not take part in an important team meeting. For him, Oliver Burke started up front for the first time.
The second division played boldly from the start, and an intense game developed. Mitchell Weiser missed Bremen’s first chance with a header (2′), Raphael Obermair clearly missed a chance for the hosts (8′). Platte did better in the middle of the first half: after a nice combination, he sank the ball in the lower left corner. In the period that followed, Bundesliga top scorer Niclas Füllkrug tried to equalize again and again. The 29-year-old’s shot from close range was missed by Paderborn keeper Leopold Zingerle (39′), after which his header didn’t pose enough of a threat (40′). Instead of 1: 1, it was then 2: 0 for the second division: Conteh ran away from his opponent Veljkovic and put the ball in Jiri Pavlenka’s goal.
After a disappointing first half, Werner made the switch and brought on Lee Buchanan and Niklas Schmidt for Stage and Anthony Jung – but the hosts continued to play unimpressed. After Ron Schallenberg missed the chance to make it 3-0 (56′), it was Bittencourt, who had just come on as a substitute, whose deflected shot surprisingly put Werder back into play. Weiser saved the Bundesliga club with a head into extra time. There, Füllkrug became the supposed match winner (101st), but referee Frank Willenborg took the goal back after consultation with his assistant – there is no VAR in the cup.
SV Sandhausen – Karlsruher SC 8:7 (2:2, 2:0) after penalties
Second division team SV Sandhausen has only made it into the round of 16 for the fourth time. In the Baden neighborhood duel with the league rivals Karlsruher SC, the table 15 sat down. 8:7 in a curious penalty shoot-out. After 120 minutes it was 2:2, only KSC professional Marcel Franke failed after hitting the 15th shot. The KSC, cup winners in 1955 and 1956, was denied a success story like in the previous season, which had led to the quarter-finals.
The lead fell into the lap of the hosts: After a cross from Philipp Ochs, KSC defender Stephan Ambrosius maneuvered the ball into his own goal with a failed defensive action (8′). In front of 8,500 spectators in the Hardtwald stadium, Christian Kinsombi missed the great chance to make it 2-0 just four minutes later when he failed completely free to goalkeeper Marius Gersbeck.
KSC also missed the second Sandhäuser goal: Gersbeck punched the ball too short, Alexander Schirow gratefully accepted the gift (44th). After a handball from Merveille Papela, Marvin Wanitzek reduced the penalty from the penalty spot (58′). The guests, shockingly weak in the first half, went into more attacking form after the break and were rewarded with Tim Breithaupt’s equalizer (72′). In the extra time, Dario Dumic headed the crossbar for Sandhausen (117th).
SC Freiburg – FC St. Pauli 2: 1 (1: 1, 0: 1) after extra time
SC Freiburg only prevented the early end with a show of strength in extra time. 151 days after the final in Berlin, coach Christian Streich’s team made it through to a late goal by Michael Gregoritsch to make it 2-1 (1-1, 0-1) against second-division FC St. Pauli into the round of 16. Matthias Ginter (90.3) forced extra time with his equalizing goal in added time after Lukas Daschner (42.) had given Hamburg the lead in front of 33,500 spectators. In the 119th minute, Gregoritsch ensured the decision in favor of the Breisgauer, who had lost the final on penalties against RB Leipzig on May 21st.
Freiburg started with a lot of possession, but the guests from Hamburg interfered early on and had a good chance to score. But Etienne Amenyido’s shot went just over the bar (4th). In the early stages, Freiburg found it difficult to set offensive accents. Breisgauer tried again and again on the left and captain Christian Günter, but it wasn’t until the 30th minute before the Sport-Club became dangerous for the first time: Günter shot from around 20 meters and just missed the lead (30th). .
While the hosts continued to dominate the game but were harmless, St. Pauli had a top-class chance. Daschner had a lot of space on the right and marched to the penalty area. There he put it across to Amenyido, whose shot from close range was parried by Atubolu (37′). The guests took the lead a little later: After a mistake by Keven Schlotterbeck, the ball landed at Daschner, who ran alone towards Atubolu and lobbed the ball over the Freiburg goalkeeper, which is a sight to behold (42′).
Streich reacted during the break and made four changes. Gregoritsch, Höfler, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh and Lienhart came into the game. But even then, Freiburg rarely created chances (71′) and St. Pauli continued to wait for a counterattack. But in stoppage time, Ginter struck with a head. In the extra time, Freiburg seemed fresher and created good chances through Lukas Kübler (98th) and Gregoritsch (99th).
Hannover 96 – Borussia Dortmund 0:2 (0:1)
Closely won, hardly shined: The German runners-up Borussia Dortmund did not win more than one mandatory win. At the second division side Hannover 96, BVB struggled through 2-0 (0-0) and thus reached the round of 16. Significantly, an own goal had to serve for the preliminary decision. Bright Arrey-Mbi deflected a shot from young star Youssoufa Moukoko into the 96 goal in the eleventh minute. Nevertheless, Leo Weinkauf, who, as in the first round, was preferred to goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler, did not look good in this scene. Substitute Jude Bellingham made the final score with a penalty kick (71′), Karim Adeyemi saw the red card late for an emergency brake (85′). Captain Marco Reus was absent due to slight ankle problems.
After the quick lead, the guests only managed to control the game for a short time. After half an hour, Lower Saxony had recovered and were close to equalizing twice in the 31st and 32nd minutes, but Gregor Kobel was able to counter it with a foot defense. Donyell Malen (37th) missed the preliminary decision in a promising position.
But although Hummels was not there when the 49,000 spectators kicked off in the sold-out arena, his teammates took his criticism to heart after the game in Berlin. Not only substitute captain Niklas Süle was not above clearing up a situation with a back pass over 20 meters. But moving forward there was a lot to complain about. The fifth in the second division only allowed a few good BVB actions in front of or in their own penalty area. 96 coach Stefan Leitl raised his thumb appreciatively for this several times.
And even in the second half there wasn’t really a class difference to be seen. There was no question of a dominance of the guests, on the contrary: Hendrik Weydandt (53rd) missed the equalizer that would have been deserved in this phase. Terzic had to react for more stability: Hummels and Bellingham were on the pitch from the 62nd minute. But the North Germans kept up the pressure until the Englishman scored from the spot nine minutes after coming on.
