Borussia Mönchengladbach easily made it into the second round of the DFB Cup in coach Gerardo Seoane’s competitive debut. The Bundesliga club clearly won the first round game at fifth division club TuS Bersenbrück on Friday 7-0 (4-0). In front of 15,741 spectators in Osnabrück, including around 10,000 guest fans, the two newcomers Franck Honorat (22nd minute/56th) and Tomas Cvancara (32nd/35th), the very agile Nathan Ngoumou (27th), met Robin Hack (77th) and Grant-Leon Ranos (89th) for the three-time cup winner.
“We want to be there from the first minute,” Gladbach’s midfielder Julian Weigl announced. It didn’t work: The Lower Saxony Oberliga club had a great chance to take the lead after 80 seconds. Borussia goalkeeper Jonas Omlin saved his team from the early goal with two saves.
The Seoane team only really came into play after ten minutes. France’s Honorat, who cost eight million euros, repeatedly indicated his strengths on the right wing. The 27-year-old took the lead after a pass from fellow striker Cvancara, who was also newly signed (22nd).
Gladbach offensive plays strong
The 22-year-old Czech Cvancara, who has been the most expensive summer signing so far at almost ten million euros, managed the feat of shooting the ball past the empty goal from close range after the opening goal (26th). Ngoumou did better a minute later and scored to make it 2-0. Then Cvancara was there too and made things clear with a double strike in the first half (32’/35′).
Again Honorat (56th) and the substitutes Hack (77th) and Ranos (89th) increased after the break. Even without the top-class departures of Jonas Hofmann (Bayer Leverkusen) and Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan), the Borussia offensive was extremely variable and enthusiastic.
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Almost a week before the start of the Bundesliga at FC Augsburg, Borussia’s defense around new signing Maximilian Wöber was too faulty. The fifth division club came up with too many chances, especially at the beginning. Nico Elvedi, number one central defender for many years, has lost his regular place. The Swiss would like to leave Mönchengladbach for England and was on the bench for 90 minutes after the clear win.
Meanwhile, Kai Brünker shot 1. FC Saarbrücken into the second round. The striker, who came on at half-time, scored in the first minute of added time for the acclaimed 2-1 (0-0) winning goal of the third division club against Karlsruher SC. Tim Civeja (47th minute) gave the Saarlanders the lead on Friday in the Ludwigsparkstadion. Lars Stindl (65th) scored to equalize for the second division club.
1. FC Saarbrücken throws Karlsruher SC out of the DFB Cup. : Image: dpa
Especially in the first round, the game was fragmented and tough. Neither team was able to gain an advantage. Only Karlsruhe’s Fabian Schleusener had a chance to score, but he was denied in injury time by Tim Schreiber, who reacted well in the hosts’ goal. The game got a little livelier with Civeja’s flick leading into the long corner. Saarbrücken stayed on the trigger, KSC continued to have problems building up the game.
Lukas Boeder failed after a free-standing corner in the six-yard box by KSC keeper Patrick Drewes (58th). The former Bundesliga professional and national player Stindl provided a surprising equalizer with a fine direct acceptance. After that, both teams missed the chance to take the lead before Brünker scored. Thanks to the success, Saarbrücken secured another 431,200 euros after the 215,600 euros in the first round thanks to progress.
