Union Berlin is after a tour de force in the second round of the DFB Cup. The Europa League participants prevailed in the East duel at the regional league club Chemnitzer FC after extra time 2-1 (1-1, 0-0). City rivals Hertha BSC, who had to bury their dream of a final in the Olympic Stadium on Sunday, are waiting for the Bundesliga opener on Saturday.
Jordan Siebatcheu (64′), brought in to succeed Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi, and substitute Kevin Behrens (114′) scored for last year’s semi-finalist from Köpenick, who by no means shone. Tobias Müller (62nd) put Chemnitz in the lead.
Bundesliga promoted SV Werder Bremen meanwhile won 2-1 (1-0) at fourth division club Energie Cottbus. Second division SV Darmstadt 98 also lived up to their role as favorites with a 3-0 (2-0) win at third division FC Ingolstadt. This leaves three clubs in the Bundesliga who did not make it through the opening hurdle: the two Rhenish clubs Bayer Leverkusen and 1. FC Köln as well as Hertha BSC.
Bundesliga atmosphere in Cottbus
Bundesliga atmosphere prevailed in front of 20,078 fans in Cottbus. But the times when the Lausitzers caused a sensation in the upper house of football are long gone. The club from the Northeast Regional League had no chance against Bremen for a long time and were already 2-0 behind thanks to goals from Romano Schmid (43rd) and Mitchell Weiser (73rd). After Tim Heike’s goal in the 79th minute, Claus-Dieter Wollitz’s team turned up the heat and came close to equalizing.
Ultimately, the six-time cup winner was spared an early exit like last year when Werder lost in the first round at VfL Osnabrück.
In Ingolstadt it was similar to last year’s second division, when Darmstadt easily won 2-0 at the Schanzers. Phillip Tietz (15th) and Tobias Kempe with a penalty kick (42nd) made everything clear this time in the first half. Markus Warming provided the final point (84th).
