Hannover and Hertha out, Dortmund progress
October 28, 2014
Borussia Dortmund overcame St. Pauli 3-0 in the German Cup on Tuesday thanks to goals from Ciro Immobile, Marco Reus and Shinji Kagawa. Immobile, having had an effort ruled out for a close offside call, scored with a first-time effort inside the box after a quick passing move. The Italian turned provider just before half time, and Marco Reus side-footed into the far corner to ease Jürgen Klopp's woes.
St. Pauli had a good spell at the start of the second half and goalkeeper Mitch Langerak had to make some good saves to keep Dortmund two goals ahead. Having failed to seize on that powerplay, St. Pauli were held off, even if Dortmund's defense still looked a little shaky at times. Shinji Kagawa then added a third after capitalizing on a mistake by Philipp Tschauner in the home side's goal. It was a welcome return to winning ways for Jürgen Klopp and his team, even if three points weren't the reward.
Hannover lack bite, Berlin lose the shoot-out
Hannover were slow to get into top gear in their match against Aalen, and were soon on the back foot after Ceyhun Gülselam inadvertendly deflected a cross past his own goalkeeper. On the back of their win against Dortmund last weekend, Tayfun Korkut's men were expected to take the iniative against a weaker opponent.
A burst in the second half did come but with no reward, and things were made all the worse when Aalen added a second after a neat passing move was finished by Michael Klauss. That goal proved enough as Hannover crashed out in the second round of the German Cup.
Arminia Bielefeld might have let Hertha Berlin have the majority of possession in their match-up, but only Salomon Kalou's header was of note in the first half and that was cleared off the line. Things got more heated as the game progressed, but after another less-than-inspiring second half, extra time followed. Bielefeld were the better side, but couldn't find a winner so it went to penalties. In the shoot-out, Hertha took the lead but misses from Julian Schieber and Sandro Wagner gave Bielefeld the chance, and they took it.
Offenbach and Dresden continue cup dreams
Off the back of a first-round penalty shoot-out win against Ingolstadt, Kickers Offenbach beat Karslruher SC thanks to a Benjamin Pintol goal. KSC missed a number of chances before Pintol's goal, but the home side battled in true cup fashion and held on to secure a second successive upset in the competition.
After beating Schalke in the first round, Dresden wanted another German Cup scalp. The home side had a goal disallowed just before the break and were even more furious about it when visitors Bochum took the lead - Simon Terrode heading in. Dresden, spurred on by their fans, equalized through Justin Eilers. In extra time, it was Eilers again who got in behind the defence to make it 2-1 and complete the comeback. Bochum battled and Eilers missed an open goal, but Dresden held on.
Bremen and Cologne progress
Under new manager Viktor Skripnik, Werder Bremen were faced with the task of beating third-division team Chemnitzer FC away from home. Anton Fink hit the post - but a swift counterattack from the Bundesliga team ended with a goal from Fin Bartels. Franco di Santo made it 2-0 soon after the restart as Werder's timely cup run continues.
It wasn't as simple for Cologne, who were taken to penalties by hosts Duisburg. Goalkeeper Timo Horn proved the match winner, saving two in a shoot-out that Peter Stöger's team won 4-1. Anthony Ujah had two good chances to score during the 90 minutes, but Duisburg defended stubbornly throughout, and posed the occasional threat in attack.
In a second-division match-up, Kaiserslautern hosted Greuther Fürth. The home side took an 11th minute lead after Philipp Hofmann connected with a smart ball from Armin Younes. The former made it 2-0 soon after, heading in unmarked at the back post. The home side were in control amost throughout and Fürth did little in attack.