Defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen have booked the final place in the second round of the DFB-Pokal. Last season’s double winners only narrowly won 1-0 against Regionalliga side Carl Zeiss Jena thanks to match-winner Jonas Hofmann (52’).
Leverkusen were camped out inside the Jena half from the start, but were kept at bay by the fourth-tier side’s hard-fighting backline. The hosts, meanwhile, were looking for opportunities to catch the Werkself on the counter and to make the most of their set pieces.
The 30th minute saw Bayer 04 come close to opening the scoring, as Amine Adli hit the post. Jena didn’t let this moment of danger rattle them, however, and continued to break into the opposition’s half. The two teams were still deadlocked at the break as a result.
Hofmann nets the match-winner
The defending champions came out of the half-time break with plenty of energy, and were soon able to break the deadlock. Alejandro Grimaldo delivered a cross that found an unmarked Hofmann inside the box, as the midfielder headed home the opener (52’). Jena continued to attack bravely, with substitute Kay Seidemann coming within inches of getting on the end of a pass that would have left him with only Bayer goalkeeper Matej Kovar to beat (65’). A few minutes later, Sören Reddemann had a shot blocked from inside the area (70’).
The hosts were able to increasingly find opportunities to test the resiliency of the Bayer backline, as Nils Butzen tested Kovar following a corner (77’). At the other end, Florian Wirtz was then also denied after having his shot blocked (83’).
The final minutes of added time saw the match come to a nail-biting end, as Hamza Muqaj sent a shot over the bar of an empty net (90+3’). Shortly after, Patrik Schick was blocked as he looked to be through on goal (90+4’). Despite Jena’s efforts, they would go on to be eliminated by the defending champions, who only narrowly clinched the final spot in the second round.
The draw for the next round of matches will take place on Sunday, 1st September from 17:10 CEST at the German Football Museum in Dortmund.
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Defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen have booked the final place in the second round of the DFB-Pokal. Last season’s double winners only narrowly won 1-0 against Regionalliga side Carl Zeiss Jena thanks to match-winner Jonas Hofmann (52’).
Leverkusen were camped out inside the Jena half from the start, but were kept at bay by the fourth-tier side’s hard-fighting backline. The hosts, meanwhile, were looking for opportunities to catch the Werkself on the counter and to make the most of their set pieces.
The 30th minute saw Bayer 04 come close to opening the scoring, as Amine Adli hit the post. Jena didn’t let this moment of danger rattle them, however, and continued to break into the opposition’s half. The two teams were still deadlocked at the break as a result.
Hofmann nets the match-winner
The defending champions came out of the half-time break with plenty of energy, and were soon able to break the deadlock. Alejandro Grimaldo delivered a cross that found an unmarked Hofmann inside the box, as the midfielder headed home the opener (52’). Jena continued to attack bravely, with substitute Kay Seidemann coming within inches of getting on the end of a pass that would have left him with only Bayer goalkeeper Matej Kovar to beat (65’). A few minutes later, Sören Reddemann had a shot blocked from inside the area (70’).
The hosts were able to increasingly find opportunities to test the resiliency of the Bayer backline, as Nils Butzen tested Kovar following a corner (77’). At the other end, Florian Wirtz was then also denied after having his shot blocked (83’).
The final minutes of added time saw the match come to a nail-biting end, as Hamza Muqaj sent a shot over the bar of an empty net (90+3’). Shortly after, Patrik Schick was blocked as he looked to be through on goal (90+4’). Despite Jena’s efforts, they would go on to be eliminated by the defending champions, who only narrowly clinched the final spot in the second round.
The draw for the next round of matches will take place on Sunday, 1st September from 17:10 CEST at the German Football Museum in Dortmund.
