Dramatic endings, overtime and a sensational elimination – that’s what the second round of DFB-Pokal brought

Sixteen matches of the second round of the German domestic cup were played during the week and, as usual in this competition, not all favourites will continue their quest to reach the final in Berlin. Who finishes, who had a tough time and who confirmed the role of favourite? Let’s recap the second round of the DFB-Pokal.

With their unbalanced form this year, there was concern if there would be a surprise in Eintracht Frankfurt’s match against five-league Stuttgarter Kickers. However, the difference in the level of the two teams was noticeable after all and Eintracht safely outplayed their opponents in every aspect and after two quick goals they cruised to a comfortable 0:2 win.

But coach Glasner did not underestimate the match and even in a busy league schedule, supplemented by Champions League matches, he fielded probably his strongest eleven.

The clash of a traditional force in German football, struggling for years in the second tier, personified in Hamburger SV, against a young club still in its formative years but fulfilling the highest ambitions, in RB Leipzig was full of historical paradoxes.

The result did not come as a surprise, and although HSV managed to control possession, Leipzig did not mind ceding the initiative and punishing from counter-attacks and standard situations. After a comfortable 4: 0 win, this East German club is heading for the defence of the cup.

Bochum scored a rare win this season, overcoming third-league SV 07 Elversberg, the club that knocked out Leverkusen in the first round, thanks to a goal late in the game. Wolfsburg also benefited from a clash with a team from a lower division, the 2. Bundesliga. While Braunschweig had more of the game, Niko Kovac’s team went on.

In a repeat of the previous league round, Hoffenheim met Schalke. Unlike the much more evenly matched, despite the result, weekend match, this time Hoffenheim absolutely outplayed Schalke (5: 1), which meant the end for Schalke coach Frank Kramer… shortly after Alex King fought his way back into the starting lineup.

Where we did get a surprise result was rather unexpectedly in Borussia Mönchengladbach’s match with home second division side Darmstadt. Gladbach have picked themselves up this season under Daniel Farke and are attacking the European ranks.

However, with almost their best eleven, this team on the rise failed to take advantage of the fact that they dictated the pace of the game and allowed their opponents to outshoot them considerably, never taking the lead in the match, and eventually finishing in the cup after losing 2-1.

The next team to fall short was Jiri Pavlenka’s Bremen. They were already 0:2 down with Padeborn, but they had an ace up their sleeve in the form of their, traditionally this season, strong last ten minutes.

Mitchell Weiser’s equalizer in the 84th minute sent the game into extra time and then to penalties. But Pavlenka couldn’t manage either, and his opponent’s second goal saw Leonard Bittencourt’s attempt cleared off the line, allowing Werder Bremen to concentrate on the league campaign.

Freiburg’s game against St. Pauli, another second division side, was almost identical. The Hamburg club led thanks to a goal late in the first half until the 93rd minute, when Matthias Ginter sent the match into extra time. And in the spirit of late goals, Michael Gregoritsch scored in the 119th minute, after an assist from Ginter. These two summer reinforcements shot their team into the next round of the competition, where they reached the final last year.

Stuttgart continue to play as a stripped down team after the departure of their coach. In the last two games they have scored the same number of goals, 10, as they have since the start of the season. They took a six-goal drubbing from Arminia Bielefeld, who are in last place in the 2. Bundesliga after their relegation from the top competition last year.

Fans of the other clubs had certain hopes for Augsburg, who were the only team to beat the German champions this season before their cup duel with Bayern Munich. However, coach Maassen’s team with Tomášek Koubek in goal did not repeat this performance, and although they managed to dramatize the match in places, scoring the first goal and then reducing it from 1::3 to 2::3, in the end this Bavarian derby went in favor of the team from Munich.

They will join the other winners from the second round, Nürmberg, Mainz 05, Sandshausen, Borussia Dortmund, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Union Berlin, to see which opponent they will be assigned for the third round on Sunday (23.10.2022). The next round will then be played after the World Cup and the winter break, at the end of January/February, with the remaining matches to be played a week later (31.1.2023 – 1.2.2023 and 7-8.2.2023)

Source: DFB-Pokal