FEATURE | DFB Pokal – Bayer Leverkusen suffer shock exit, Jahn Regensburg eliminate FC Köln & more | OneFootball

In the first round of the DFB Pokal this weekend there were some expected wins and some big surprises with impressive performances by lower league sides, few less impressive than SV Elversberg’s victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

In terms of anticipated wins amongst the Bundesliga sides, Borussia Dortmund achieved a comfortable 3-0 away win at 1860 Munich at an atmospheric ‘Grünwalder Stadion’. Mainz also put in a convincing performance in their 3-0 win at Erzgebirge Aue.

Hoffenheim won 2-0 at one of the fourth-tier’s smallest grounds, SV Rödinghausen’s 2500 capacity Hecker Wiehenstadion. Wolfsburg won 1-0 at a Jena stadium which saw some crowd trouble with Wolfsburg players being man-handled by the East-German club’s fans after the game which the DFB are now investigating. Borussia Mönchengladbach outshone their fifth-tier hosts Oberachern in a 9-1 thrashing.

Meanwhile Bochum put in a convincing performance in a 3-0 win at Viktoria Berlin. Augsburg under new coach Enrico Maaßen won 4-0 at fourth-tier club BW Lohne of the Regionalliga-Nordost. Stuttgart can count themselves lucky to take a hard-fought 1-0 from their tie at Dynamo Dresden. Newly promoted Schalke however had no difficulty in their 5-0 win in front of a noisy capacity crowd at the Stadion am Panzerberg, the home of fourth-tier Bremer SV.

As anticipated in our preview, Jahn Regensburg were able to take advantage of their early season good form beating a poor FC Köln side 4-3 on penalties.

Freiburg were also pushed hard only managing a 2-1 win at Kaiserslautern’s Fritz Walter Stadion.

In a huge disappointment for fans of ‘Die Alte Dame,’ Hertha Berlin came out the worst at third tier new boys Eintracht Braunschweig going out 6-5 on penalties.

Undoubtedly the biggest upset was provided by SV Elversberg, who looked consistently better prepared and ‘hungrier’ than Bayer Leverkusen, beating them 4-3 in front of an ecstatic crowd at the third-tier club, who are nicknamed ‘Die Elv’.

In terms of other 2. Bundesliga clubs there were also expected wins for FC Nürnberg who beat fourth-tier Kaan-Marienborn of the Regionalliga-West in front of 9,500 fans, a record crowd for a fourth-tier side this season and Karlsruhe won 2-0 against fifth-tier Neustrelitz.

Arminia Bielefeld meanwhile played FV Engers off the park beating the Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz (5th tier) side 7-1. Hannover 96 made easy pickings of Schott Mainz, beating them 3-0.

Fortuna Düsseldorf never looked like losing the initiative in their 4-1 at 1970 DFB Pokal winner Offenbacher Kickers. HSV won 3-1 away at 3. Liga new arrivals Bayreuth.

Sandhausen’s 4-0 win at Regionalliga-Nord club BSV Rehden never looked in doubt. Meanwhile Heidenheim were pushed harder than the result suggests in their 2-0 win at Bayern fourth tier club Illertissen.

Amongst the 2. Bundesliga surprises was the 1-0 win of fourth-tier VfB Lübeck against Hansa Rostock. Former Bundesliga side, now of the fifth tier Oberliga Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgarter Kickers also took a big scalp beating Bundesliga relegates Greuther Fürth 2-0.

In another surprise outcome, Holstein Kiel were also convincingly beaten 5-3 by third tier Waldhof Mannheim at the Karl Benz Stadion.

St Pauli were also made to work very hard to avoid a replay at fourth tier SV Straelen 19. The Green and Yellows were set-up brilliantly in terms of defensive tactics by new coach, former Juventus and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Sunday Oliseh and were always present in the game but were defeated in the dying seconds thanks to a goal by Jakov Medic.

On a side note all matches across the tournament were kicked off one minute later due to a climate change awareness announcement by the DFB, the German football governing body.

Tonight:

Tuesday 31 August:

Here are the results of the first round in full:

The draw for the second round of the DFB Pokal will take place on Sunday 4 September.