DFB Cup: Frankfurt beats Gladbach; Hertha wins against Heidenheim

Eintracht Frankfurt reached the round of 16 of the DFB Cup despite being outnumbered for 75 minutes against Borussia Mönchengladbach. After a red card for Arthur Theate in the 15th minute, Eintracht won 2-1 (1-0) in the Bundesliga duel at home. The Gladbachers have to be accused of not taking advantage of their long majority.

The hosts took the lead shortly before the break through striker Hugo Ekitiké (45th + 2). At the beginning of the second half, central defender Ko Itakura (47th) equalized for Borussia. Substitute Omar Marmoush scored the winning goal (70th). The Frankfurt team were able to shake off Theate’s justifiable dismissal. During a Gladbach attack, the defender slipped and was the last field player to play the ball with his hand.

About his celebration, Marmoush said on Sky: “I don’t actually watch horror films. But the mask was in the cabin. Then I said: I’ll take it with me. It was fun, even with ten men on the pitch we worked very well.” Gladbach’s captain Julian Weigl, on the other hand, complained: “We have to admit that we were very vulnerable to counterattacks. This must not happen in excess. That wasn’t enough, the bottom line is that we have to play the game here today.”

Heidenheim’s late 2-2 draw in Berlin doesn’t count

1. FC Heidenheim experienced a cup evening to forget at Hertha BSC. The favored Bundesliga club lost 1-2 (0-1) at the capital club and, as in the previous season, missed out on a place in the round of 16. The Berliners, on the other hand, confirmed their positive impression from the league and celebrated their third victory in the third cup duel with the East Baden team.

In front of around 44,135 spectators in the Olympic Stadium, Derry Scherhant (16th minute) and Michael Cuisance (74th) scored the goals for the second division team. Heidenheim only managed to score again through Stefan Schimmer (89th). The supposed, very late equalizer by Paul Wanner (90+5) didn’t count. The referee team, which had to do without a video referee in the second round of the cup, saw a foul in the result of the goal. However, the linesman only reported the offense after the goal.

Hertha has been dreaming of a final in their own arena for decades. Last year, the blue-whites missed a huge opportunity and were eliminated in the quarter-finals. Heidenheim has not made it past the second round of the cup since the 2018/19 season.

Freiburg beats HSV, Bremen wins in Paderborn

SC Freiburg also took an important step towards the final in Berlin and won the game against second division team Hamburger SV 2-1 (2-0). Werder Bremen were also able to join the round of the remaining 16 teams after a 1-0 (1-0) win at second division club SC Paderborn.

Bielefeld surprised against Union

Arminia Bielefeld knocked 1. FC Union Berlin out of the DFB Cup and destroyed the Köpenick team’s dream of a home final in the capital early on. The Bundesliga team lost 0-2 (0-1) to the third division team in the second round. Coach Bo Svensson’s team, which has otherwise been so stable this season, was surprisingly vulnerable defensively and had no luck up front. In front of 26,117 spectators at the sold-out Alm, Marius Wörl in the 12th minute and André Becker (71st) scored the goals for the outsiders, whose fans celebrated a big cup party.

“The team fought incredibly. It was a perfect cup evening that was extremely good for us,” said Bielefeld’s sports director Michael Mutzel on Sky: “We are extremely happy about the victory.”