18:00 Pokal Kickoffs: A tip-Topp evening for Bremen, Wolfsburg scrape by Koblenz, Kickers Offenbach stun Magdeburg
Energie Cottbus 1 - Werder Bremen 3
It was a tip-Topp evening for Werder Bremen who travelled to the LEAG Energie Stadion for a meeting with Cottbus. Despite the visitor's dominance, 3.Liga outfit did well to repel Agu, Schmid, and Ducksch on numerous occasions. Eventually the resistance collapsed when Keke Topp peeled off the shoulder of Tim Campulka to fire into the top right corner.
Eight minutes before the interval, Die Werderaner doubled their advantage. A second of the afternoon for Topp who returned to his boyhood club from Schalke this summer for a fee rumoured to be around €2million. The 20-year-old outmuscled Campulka and rolled the ball past Elias Bethke between the Cottbus sticks.
A dream competitive debut was achieved ten minutes after the break as Topp bagged his hattrick. The perennially hard-working Marvin Ducksch cut down the right flank to square for his compatriot. The easiest of the three finishes, with a half-empty goal at his mercy.
There was reason to cheer for Cottbus who found a response with 20 minutes remaining. An emphatic response at that - Henry Rorig blasting his 26-yard freekick over Bremen's three-man wall into the top left corner as Zetterer swiped at clean air. The hosts would finish the game with 10-men as Romario Hajrulla saw red for a nasty challenge with Zetterer. Fortunately the Bremen shot-stopper was cleared to continue and see his side into the second-round.
TUS Koblenz 0 - VfL Wolfsburg 1
Die Wölfe went about constructing the breakthrough against their Oberliga opponents in the 15th-minute as Patrick Wimmer nodded home. Jakub Kaminski whipped his corner into the path of the Austrian who beat Zadach to the ball and pierced the Koblenz net. Hasenhüttl's side entered the dressing rooms in front, but perhaps they didn't control the opening half as much as they would have hoped.
Wolfsburg maintained their slender lead into the second-half and could finally breathe easier when Koblenz were reduced to 10-men. Yasin Yaman cynically wiped out Patrick Wimmer on the break, as arbiter Sören Storks brandished the red card. Far from satisfactory in their performance, but Wolfsburg advance to the next round.
Kickers Offenbach 2 - Magdeburg 1
The plucky underdogs from the Regionalliga Südwest opened the scoring on the half-hour to leave Magdeburg stunned. Both sides were evenly matched around the park until Marc Wachs crossed for the back post. Alexander Sorge's brave header kissed the post and rebounded into the net to delight the home fans.
Eventually the experience of the 2.Bundesliga side left its mark on the occasion. Capitalising on some slack Offenbach defending, Tatsuya Ito spotted Martijn Kaars in an acre of space in the box. The Netherlands striker had time spare to composed himself before poking the ball past Johannes Brinkies.
One could be forgiven for expecting the higher ranked side to kick on, but instead they showed signs of vulnerability. In the 74th-minute, Offenbach skipper Wachs cut the ball across the box for Valdrin Mustafa. The 26-year-old Kosovan prodded the ball over the goal-line to restore their lead. A mighty upset for the ages as Kickers Offenbach survived the final five minutes of injury time to progress.