On Tuesday night, second-division sides 1. FC Kaiserslautern, FC St. Pauli and Fortuna Düsseldorf earned themselves a spot in the DFB-Pokal quarterfinals, alongside Bundesliga team Borussia Mönchengladbach. The third round was nothing short of action-packed, with Gladbach’s thrilling fixture against Wolfsburg ending in a 1-0 win to the Foals thanks to a 120th minute winner from Manu Koné.
Goalfest in Homburg
St. Pauli confirmed why they were the favourites for the game against FC 08 Homburg by taking an early lead through Hauke Wahl (24’), but the hosts responded quickly with an equaliser from midfielder Markus Mendler, who pounced upon a shaky backpass to keeper Sascha Burchert (28’). In the 64th minute, super sub Elias Saad rewarded the visitors’ persistent attacks with their second of the game, followed not long after by a third by Marcel Hartel from the edge of the penalty area (69’). As if three wasn’t enough, Johannes Eggestein fired one more home in the 73rd minute for St. Pauli.
Comfortable 2-0 victory for 1. FC Kaiserslautern
At the Fritz-Walter-Stadion, both teams had a few chances in the first half. Marlon Ritter challenged the visitors’ goalkeeper twice in the opening 25 minutes, yet neither side really posed a huge threat in front of goal. In the closing stages of the second half, Richmond Tachie stepped up and opened the scoring for Kaiserslautern (78’) with a clinical volley from a cross. This was closely followed by neat combination play from the hosts, which set up Ragner Ache to secure a second goal for head coach Dimtrios Grammozis’ side, as well as a spot in the quarterfinals.
Late winner for Fortuna
Baris Atik gave the hosts an early lead in Magdeburg through a cross from the left-hand side (15’), which left Fortuna’s goalkeeper Karol Niemczycki with no chance. The game lacked a real flow for a period as both teams were unorganised with their passing; however, Jona Niemiec saved Düsseldorf with a late equaliser from a beautiful strike into the top right corner. The visitors gained momentum in the closing stages, and the German striker fired home his second in injury time (90’+2) to put Fortuna through to the next round.
Borussia saved in the dying seconds
The all-Bundesliga clash between Borussia Mönchengladbach and VfL Wolfsburg at BORUSSIA-PARK remained reasonably uneventful for the entirety of normal time, with both sides struggling to make the most of their chances and open the scoring. The first real opportunity came from Jonas Wind’s header in the 90th minute, where Borussia keeper Moritz Nicolas was forced to make a diving save in the bottom left corner. Just when everyone thought a penalty shoot-out was on the cards, Kouadio Koné’s clever attacking run and headed finish in the 120th minute wrapped up a tense, nail-biting 1-0 win for the Foals.
On Tuesday night, second-division sides 1. FC Kaiserslautern, FC St. Pauli and Fortuna Düsseldorf earned themselves a spot in the DFB-Pokal quarterfinals, alongside Bundesliga team Borussia Mönchengladbach. The third round was nothing short of action-packed, with Gladbach’s thrilling fixture against Wolfsburg ending in a 1-0 win to the Foals thanks to a 120th minute winner from Manu Koné.
Goalfest in Homburg
St. Pauli confirmed why they were the favourites for the game against FC 08 Homburg by taking an early lead through Hauke Wahl (24’), but the hosts responded quickly with an equaliser from midfielder Markus Mendler, who pounced upon a shaky backpass to keeper Sascha Burchert (28’). In the 64th minute, super sub Elias Saad rewarded the visitors’ persistent attacks with their second of the game, followed not long after by a third by Marcel Hartel from the edge of the penalty area (69’). As if three wasn’t enough, Johannes Eggestein fired one more home in the 73rd minute for St. Pauli.
Comfortable 2-0 victory for 1. FC Kaiserslautern
At the Fritz-Walter-Stadion, both teams had a few chances in the first half. Marlon Ritter challenged the visitors’ goalkeeper twice in the opening 25 minutes, yet neither side really posed a huge threat in front of goal. In the closing stages of the second half, Richmond Tachie stepped up and opened the scoring for Kaiserslautern (78’) with a clinical volley from a cross. This was closely followed by neat combination play from the hosts, which set up Ragner Ache to secure a second goal for head coach Dimtrios Grammozis’ side, as well as a spot in the quarterfinals.
Late winner for Fortuna
Baris Atik gave the hosts an early lead in Magdeburg through a cross from the left-hand side (15’), which left Fortuna’s goalkeeper Karol Niemczycki with no chance. The game lacked a real flow for a period as both teams were unorganised with their passing; however, Jona Niemiec saved Düsseldorf with a late equaliser from a beautiful strike into the top right corner. The visitors gained momentum in the closing stages, and the German striker fired home his second in injury time (90’+2) to put Fortuna through to the next round.
Borussia saved in the dying seconds
The all-Bundesliga clash between Borussia Mönchengladbach and VfL Wolfsburg at BORUSSIA-PARK remained reasonably uneventful for the entirety of normal time, with both sides struggling to make the most of their chances and open the scoring. The first real opportunity came from Jonas Wind’s header in the 90th minute, where Borussia keeper Moritz Nicolas was forced to make a diving save in the bottom left corner. Just when everyone thought a penalty shoot-out was on the cards, Kouadio Koné’s clever attacking run and headed finish in the 120th minute wrapped up a tense, nail-biting 1-0 win for the Foals.
