Bremen and Hamburg Out of German Cup

There's an old saying that the German Cup follows its own rules, and the first full day of the knock-out competition certainly wasn't short on surprises. Five-time Cup winners Werder Bremen went out 4-2 on penalties to amateur side Pirmasens, while third-division Stuttgart Kickers shocked Hamburg 4-3 in extra-time.

Bremen Stunned by Pirmasens

Bremen were expecting a big win against their third-division hosts, but what they got was a huge comeuppance. After a scoreless first half, midfielder Tobias Zellner put the hosts ahead 1-0 in the 64th minute.

There was little to be seen of Bremen's vaunted offense, but they did manage an equalizer. Striker Ivan Klasnic leveled the score in the 84th minute to send the match into extra time.

But Bremen's Frank Baumann was sent off in the 108th minute, and Pirmasens were able to stifle Werder's strikers. After 120 minutes the score still stood at 1-1.

In the resultant shoot-out, Pirmasens keeper Reiner Schwartz was the hero. He held against Klasnic and Hugo Almeida. Meanwhile, the hosts kept their nerve to win 4-2 on penalties and record one of the biggest victories in club history.

Hamburg Squander Lead

It was an even wilder ride in Stuttgart, with the underdogs shocking their Northern German opponents. Defender Recep Yildiz and striker Christian Okpala staked Stuttgart to a 2-0 lead in the first 6 minutes of the game.

It took Hamburg until the 28th minute to get back on track. Striker Boubacar Sanogo began the favourites' comeback, and his partner up front Daniel Ljuboja knotted the score seven minutes later. Defender Guy Demel then put Hamburg up 3-2 just before the half-time whistle.

But Hamburg made the mistake of trying to hang on to their slim advantage and they were punished for it just before the final whistle. Yildiz struck again to send the match into extra-time.

And things went from bad to worse for Hamburg in the 96th minute, when the Kickers were awarded a penalty. Okpala converted from the spot to put the hosts up. A late Hamburg goal by Alexander Laas was ruled offside, and that meant the underdogs booked an unlikely 4-3 victory.

Leverkusen Scrape By

Leverkusen almost suffered a similar debacle in Koblenz, falling behind both in regular and extra time. But a late goal by midfielder Bernd Schneider tied up the game at 2-2 after 120 minutes. Leverkusen then held steady during in the penalty shoot-out. Schneider, Simon Rolfes and Paul Freier all found the back of the net to give the visitors a tight 3-1 win on penalties.

In other action, first-division Cottbus went out of the Cup after a 1-0 loss to second division Essen. All the other first division sides playing on Saturday progressed as expected.