DFB-Pokal: Hertha and Nürnberg maintain perfect start with penalty shootout wins

Hertha BSC and Nürnberg survived late scares as they both went through to the next round of the cup thanks to penalty shootout wins. The capital city club saw off Saarbrücken, who recently reached two semi-finals, while Miroslav Klose’s men knocked out a brave Viktoria Köln side.

Boosted by their excellent start to the 2. Bundesliga season, Hertha had a strong start in search of an early lead. Kevin Broll had to make two decent saves inside the first five minutes in Saarbrücken’s goal.

Despite a dominant performance, Stefan Leitl’s side failed to find a breakthrough in the first-half. It eventually took something spectacular to beat Broll as Paul Seguin’s effort from range looked to send the visitors into the next round.

However, former Freiburg midfielder Philip Fahrner had other plans as he scored an injury-time equalizer for Saarbrücken. After an uneventful extra-time, Hertha booked their second round ticket with a penalty shootout victory as experienced duo Florian Pick and Kai Brünker missed their attempts.

Meanwhile, surprisingly, Viktoria Köln had four attempts against the in-form team in the first ten minutes. As their coach Marian Wilhelm promised before the game, they had no intention of playing defensive football against Miroslav Klose’s side.

Against the run of play, the 2. Bundesliga side took the lead early in the second-half through Rafael Lubach. Viktoria Köln continued to create clear-cut chances, but they had nothing to show for it in the scoreline until Meiko Sponsel’s injury-time strike.

The penalty shootout was far more dramatic than the one in Saarbrücken as both sides led before Niklas Jahn’s miss decided the tie. The 22-year-old spent a decade in the youth teams of Nürnberg, and has only joined Viktoria Köln this summer from VfL Bochum. He was inconsolable after his decisive miss despite the efforts of players and fans.