When former coach Florian Kohfeldt returned, Werder Bremen made it through to the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup with a lot of effort and thanks to a last-minute goal from Anthony Jung. The Bundesliga team won 1-0 (0-0) against lower-class SV Darmstadt 98 at home in the Weserstadion. Jung made the decision after a free kick from Marvin Ducksch in the fourth minute of stoppage time in front of 40,000 spectators.
“We knew it would be difficult. Darmstadt stood deep and waited for a counterattack. But we remained patient. It was late. But better late than never,” said a happy goalscorer Jung. Assist provider Ducksch was also satisfied: “We deservedly rewarded ourselves in the end.”
For Darmstadt coach Kohfeldt it was an emotional journey into the past: he was associated with Bremen as a player and coach for 20 years. He trained the professionals between 2017 and 2021 before he had to leave shortly before the end of the season – and Werder was relegated to the 2nd league a short time later. Now he returned to his old place of work for the first time on the enemy’s side.
And the reception was positive. “I was incredibly happy to have been greeted so warmly here,” said Kohfeldt to the TV channel Sky. In Darmstadt he celebrated a successful sporting debut, the club jumped from 16th to 11th place in the table.
The tense first half took on a tragic note from Werder’s perspective when Milos Veljkovic was injured (12th), when the 29-year-old had to be substituted. The Serb only made his comeback at the beginning of November after being out for several weeks.
The Werder goalkeeper Michael Zetterer, who rushed out of the goal, caused a stir when he fouled attacker Isac Lidberg about 30 meters in front of his own goal. Referee Martin Petersen showed him a yellow card for this. Two Werder defenders were still between Zetterer and the goal.
Werder seemed more aggressive, but the effect quickly fizzled out in the second half. Bremen’s Darmstadt shots were repeatedly blocked from promising positions. But then Jung caused ecstasy in the Weserstadion in stoppage time when he scored the late winning goal after a free kick from Ducksch.
Leverkusen on course to defend their title
Bremen now need two more wins to reach the cup final in Berlin. The favorite for the title is now cup defender Bayer Leverkusen, who won the top DFB Cup game at Bayern Munich after a red card against Manuel Neuer. The German champions won 1-0 (0-0) against the record cup winners in the round of 16.
“The last results and games were promising. We’re back to saying, ‘We win the dirty things too.’ And in the cup you don’t need so many wins,” said Leverkusen’s Robert Andrich.
Third division team Arminia Bielefeld is also surprisingly in the quarter-finals. In the 3-1 (2-0) win against Bundesliga team SC Freiburg, the traditional club once again eliminated a team from a higher class. They had previously won against second division team Hannover 96 and Bundesliga club Union Berlin. Freiburg initially missed a penalty through Florent Muslija.
Runner-up VfB Stuttgart reached the next round with a confident 3-0 (2-0) at second division bottom team Jahn Regensburg. The four further games of the round of 16 are scheduled for Wednesday.
DFB Cup, round of 16
Arminia Bielefeld – SC Freiburg 3:1 (2:0)
Jahn Regensburg – VfB Stuttgart 0:3 (0:2)
FC Bayern Munich – Bayer Leverkusen 0:1 (0:0)
Werder Bremen – Darmstadt 98 1:0 (0:0)
1. FC Cologne – Hertha BSC Wed., 6 p.m
VfL Wolfsburg – TSG Hoffenheim Mi., 18 Uhr
RB Leipzig – Eintracht Frankfurt Wed., 8:45 p.m
Karlsruher SC – FC Augsburg Wed., 8:45 p.m
