Knee goal kicks off Kaiserslautern's late cup party
Nothing happens for a long time in the DFB Cup round of 16 between Kaiserslautern and Nuremberg. It wasn't until the 75th minute that the knot burst and new coach Dimitrios Grammozis was able to celebrate a successful debut at the Betzenberg. Meanwhile, Magdeburg lead until the final stages against Düsseldorf - but are eliminated.
1. FC Magdeburg - Fortuna Düsseldorf 1:2 (1:0)
Fortuna Düsseldorf have reached the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup for the first time in four years. Coach Daniel Thioune's team came from a long way behind to win the second division clash at 1. FC Magdeburg 2:1 (0:1) thanks to a brace from Jona Niemiec.
Baris Atik (15) had put the home side ahead. However, substitute Niemiec (87-90+2) rewarded a strong second half from the visitors. His goals secured Düsseldorf a further 1.7 million euros in revenue.
Atik initially had "Fortuna" on his side: His "shot" from over 25 meters was intended as a cross, which Luc Castaignos was unable to reach. Karol Niemczycki in the Fortuna goal had no chance of defending.
Magdeburg, who started with the same team as in the 4:1 win against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the league and pressed high as usual, could have taken a bigger lead. However, Xavier Amaechi only hit the far post (31'). The visitors came out stronger in the second half, had significantly more possession and several opportunities to equalize. Captain Jordy de Wijs hit the post with his head (48'), then Niemiec made his grand entrance.
1. FC Kaiserslautern - 1. FC Nürnberg 2:0 (0:0)
1. FC Kaiserslautern gave Dimitrios Grammozis a perfect debut and fought their way into the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup. In the first game under the new coach, the Red Devils won 2-0 (0-0) against two-division rivals 1. FC Nürnberg thanks to a late double strike and halted their free fall after four competitive defeats.
Two days after signing Grammozis, Richmond Tachie (75') and Ragnar Ache (78') sent FCK into the last eight for the first time in ten years - and created a celebratory mood at Betzenberg. Nuremberg, on the other hand, failed to make amends for their recent league defeat against Fortuna Düsseldorf (0:5) in an extremely intense but poorly played duel.
Grammozis, who played for the four-time champions from 2000 to 2005, took over from Dirk Schuster - and got off to a motivated start. "I'm really looking forward to it," said the new FCK coach, who made two changes to the starting eleven compared to the league defeat in Magdeburg (1:4).
The Palatinate side wanted to turn the frustration of the past few days into positive energy in front of 48,349 fans in the Fritz Walter Stadium. FCK got off to a correspondingly committed start, but the offensive momentum fizzled out again after a strong start. In a hard-fought duel between two traditional clubs, there were initially no clear goalscoring opportunities.
It was only after the break that Nuremberg posed a threat, with Lautern goalkeeper Julian Krahl making a strong save on the line from Ahmet Gürleyen's header (53'). The hosts increased the pressure in the final phase. However, it took some time for Tachie to ice-coldly slot home with his knee after a cross. The goalscorer also set up the second goal for substitute Ache.
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Despite Magdeburg's early lead in their DFB Cup match against Fortuna Düsseldorf, the visitors managed to come back and secure a 2:1 victory, advancing to the quarter-finals. This marked Fortuna Düsseldorf's first appearance in the DFB Cup quarter-finals in four years. In another DFB Cup match, 1.FC Kaiserslautern, under new coach Dimitrios Grammozis, managed to defeat 1.FC Nürnberg 2:0, thanks to late goals from Richmond Tachie and Ragnar Ache, securing their spot in the quarter-finals for the first time in ten years.
Source: www.ntv.de
