Fortuna Düsseldorf became the first side to book their place in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday evening, as they came out on top in an all-2. Bundesliga affair with FC St. Pauli. There was nothing to split the sides after 120 minutes (2-2), before Fortuna beat the second-division league leaders 6-5 on penalties.
Both sides battled to control the flow of the game for the majority of the first half and subsequently didn’t create many opportunities. As the first 45 drew to a close, Fortuna managed to break the deadlock, with Vincent Vermeij giving the visitors the lead from the spot in the 38th minute. St. Pauli looked lively at the start of the second half, but Fortuna’s stoic defence prevented them from carving out any clear-cut opportunities. That was until the 60th minute, when St. Pauli were awarded a penalty following Ao Tanaka’s foul on Philipp Treu. Marcel Hartel stepped up and gave Düsseldorf keeper Florian Kastenmeier no chance to level things up at 1-1. The teams couldn’t be split after 90 minutes, so the match went into extra time.
Last-gasp equaliser and penalty drama
Tanaka made amends for his earlier mistake in the 99th minute of the game, as he poked the ball over the line after Sascha Burchert parried Christoph Daferner’s long shot into the midfielder’s path. The visitors fended off all of St. Pauli’s attempts to draw level valiantly, but it wasn’t enough, as Carlo Boukhalfa headed home in the dying seconds to send the game to penalties (120’). Daferner saw his penalty saved by Burchert, before Kastenmeier denied Maurides and Hartel. Fortuna pounced on the hosts’ mistakes, as Christos Tzolis scored a panenka to send Düsseldorf through to the final four.
Fortuna Düsseldorf became the first side to book their place in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday evening, as they came out on top in an all-2. Bundesliga affair with FC St. Pauli. There was nothing to split the sides after 120 minutes (2-2), before Fortuna beat the second-division league leaders 6-5 on penalties.
Both sides battled to control the flow of the game for the majority of the first half and subsequently didn’t create many opportunities. As the first 45 drew to a close, Fortuna managed to break the deadlock, with Vincent Vermeij giving the visitors the lead from the spot in the 38th minute. St. Pauli looked lively at the start of the second half, but Fortuna’s stoic defence prevented them from carving out any clear-cut opportunities. That was until the 60th minute, when St. Pauli were awarded a penalty following Ao Tanaka’s foul on Philipp Treu. Marcel Hartel stepped up and gave Düsseldorf keeper Florian Kastenmeier no chance to level things up at 1-1. The teams couldn’t be split after 90 minutes, so the match went into extra time.
Last-gasp equaliser and penalty drama
Tanaka made amends for his earlier mistake in the 99th minute of the game, as he poked the ball over the line after Sascha Burchert parried Christoph Daferner’s long shot into the midfielder’s path. The visitors fended off all of St. Pauli’s attempts to draw level valiantly, but it wasn’t enough, as Carlo Boukhalfa headed home in the dying seconds to send the game to penalties (120’). Daferner saw his penalty saved by Burchert, before Kastenmeier denied Maurides and Hartel. Fortuna pounced on the hosts’ mistakes, as Christos Tzolis scored a panenka to send Düsseldorf through to the final four.
