Joker Koné redeems Gladbach in the 120th minute
Even a curious goal is not enough: second division leaders St. Pauli crush fourth division club FC Homburg. Hamburg advance to the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup after a strong second half. Meanwhile, Gladbach and Wolfsburg struggle for 120 minutes - before a joker finally stings.
FC 08 Homburg - FC St. Pauli 1:4 (1:1)
Second division leaders FC St. Pauli put an end to the cup fairytale of rebellious FC Homburg. Coach Fabian Hürzeler's team prevailed 4:1 (1:1) at the Saarland regional league club despite conceding a curious goal and reached the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup, as they did two years ago.
After the victories in the first two rounds against Darmstadt 98 (3:0) and SpVgg Greuther Fürth (2:1), Homburg missed out on the next sensation - although captain Michael Mendler scored thanks to a mistake on the pitch (28.). However, Hauke Wahl (24), Elias Saad (64), Marcel Hartel (69) and Johannes Eggestein (73) scored to secure victory for Hamburg, who remain unbeaten.
The Homburg footballers had been working hard for their "match of a lifetime" for days before kick-off. They laid out tarpaulins on the pitch due to the frosty temperatures and shoveled snow. However, as expected, the visitors initially took the initiative in the match. St. Pauli dominated - and cheered when Wahl scored from a scramble to take the lead.
However, Homburg kept counter-attacking cheekily and gave the right answer: A short free-kick from the visitors in the penalty area bounced over goalkeeper Sascha Burchert's foot, meaning that Mendler only had to push it in. The underdogs showed the "David versus Goliath mentality" that Hürzeler had warned against.
The leaders of the Regionalliga Südwest gradually ran out of steam as the second half progressed. However, St. Pauli initially only created a few notable chances. However, a cross from Eric Smith landed right in the path of Saad, who scored with ice-cold precision to take the lead. Hartel scored a dream goal and Eggestein added to the calm.
Borussia Mönchengladbach - VfL Wolfsburg 1:0 (0:0) n. V.
Borussia Mönchengladbach exacerbated the crisis at VfL Wolfsburg and coach Niko Kovac with a hard-fought win in the cup quarter-finals. While the foals became the first first-division team to reach the last eight with a 1:0 (0:0, 0:0) win after extra time, alarm bells are ringing for the Wolves. The seventh away defeat in a row also leaves Kovac in need of an explanation.
Joker Manu Koné (120') secured Borussia's fifth home win in a row in an extremely weak game. Three days after the bitter 3-1 defeat at VfL Bochum, the Wolves missed two top chances in the closing stages of normal time - and were then bitterly punished.
"To be honest, I don't feel any pressure," Kovac said before kick-off. A self-confidence that his team also displayed at the start. In contrast to the 4-0 defeat in the league just 25 days earlier, Wolfsburg played with passion. However, both teams lacked ideas and the 39,827 spectators in the cold and wet Borussia Park hardly got their money's worth.
The rematch of the 1995 final lacked creativity and precision in particular. Gladbach slowly got into the game better, with Alassane Plea in particular impressing as an industrious ball distributor. However, neither side really created any real danger, with misplaced passes and interruptions dominating the action instead.
The only positive aspect was that both sides' defenses were not always secure. That applied to Borussia's back three, in which the 18-year-old Fabio Chiarodia made his starting eleven debut, as well as to the Wolves' defense around the attentive Moritz Jenz.
The second half brought at least one excitement: Chiarodia fired the ball over the goal from one meter, but Plea was offside (49'). The Wolves, who had eliminated defending champions RB Leipzig in the second round, now withdrew far back and waited for counter-attacks.
The error rate remained high on both sides, but Wolfsburg came back into the game. Tiago Tomas (86') was just offside when he scored. Gladbach goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas made a strong save from Jonas Wind (90), who narrowly missed the target in stoppage time. In extra time, the Wolves were once again in control. Joakim Maehle (108') missed the next big chance.
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Despite their struggles, Borussia Mönchengladbach managed to secure a 1:0 victory over VfL Wolfsburg in the DFB Cup, thanks to a goal from Manu Koné in extra time. This win comes after FC St. Pauli also advanced to the quarter-finals, defeating lower-division opponents FC Homburg 4:1, with strikes from Hauke Wahl, Elias Saad, Marcel Hartel, and Johannes Eggestein.
Source: www.ntv.de
