News (engl.)

The first two teams through to the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals have been confirmed. FC St. Pauli claimed a 2-1 win away at fellow Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach. Meanwhile, Hertha BSC cruised through with a dominant 6-1 victory over 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

St. Pauli win tight contest against Gladbach 

Gladbach’s Kevin Stöger had the game’s first shot in the 11th minute from range, but St. Pauli keeper Nikola Vasilj was equal to it. At the other end, Marcel Kaars had a decent chance but fired too centrally (13’). Just before half-time, Kaars was played through and drove into the box before slotting the ball into the far corner to give the visitors the lead (43’).

Gladbach struck back early in the second half: Giovanni Reyna played a long ball over the top to Franck Honorat, who picked out Haris Tabaković with a pinpoint cross, as the striker made no mistake with his header to make it 1-1 (56’). With around 15 minutes to go, both sides had chances: Jackson Irvine was denied by Gladbach keeper Moritz Nicolas, before Rocco Reitz found Shuto Machino with a cross at the other end, but the attacker couldn’t quite make contact.

Kaars then drove down the left and squared the ball to Louis Oppie, who cut inside and finished clinically with his right foot to make it 2-1 (83’). Gladbach were unable to find a response, as St. Pauli secured their place in the quarter-finals.

Hertha run riot against Kaiserslautern 

Hertha made a flying start in front of almost 50,000 fans at the Olympiastadion. In the sixth minute, a poor backpass from Kaiserslautern’s Maxwell Gyamfi fell straight to Luca Schuler, who rounded FCK keeper Avdo Simoni and slotted in to make it 1-0.

Ten minutes later, Marten Winkler made it 2-0 with a stunning solo goal, finishing with his left after a 79-metre run (21’). After hitting the bar moments earlier, 16-year-old Elias Eichhorn kept his cool in the box, netting not only his first professional goal but also becoming the youngest goalscorer in DFB-Pokal history. Kaiserslautern got one back just before the break, as captain Marlon Ritter fired home from 20 yards, finding the bottom-left corner (45+2’).

Hertha stayed sharp and dangerous on the break as the second half got underway, as another counter-attack brought their fourth goal. Schuler broke free once more and squeezed the ball through Simoni’s legs to restore their three-goal cushion (60’). Hertha’s substitutes then put the game to bed. Maurice Krattenmacher intercepted a poor pass from Simoni, burst into the box and squared for Dawid Kownacki to tap in for 5-1 (75’). Five minutes later, Krattenmacher got on the scoresheet himself to make it six (80’).