Pokal round-up: Gladbach see off Heidenheim, Kaiserslautern end Köln's cup campaign
Gladbach ran out comfortable 3-1 winners over Heidenheim thanks to a Jordan brace. Elsewhere in Betzenberg, 2.Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern knocked out Köln in a five-goal thriller at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion.
Mönchengladbach 3 – Heidenheim 1
In what was a repeat of last weekend’s Bundesliga matchup, Gladbach and Heidenheim did battle again but this time in Pokal environs. Jordan Siebatcheu’s brace inside the opening 10 minutes instantly put Die Fohlen in the driving seat. The US international supplied perfectly by Hack and Ngoumou on both occasions. Gladbach never took a backward step from then.
Having arrived on a summer transfer from Bielefeld, Robin Hack would find the net himself just before the break. Luca Netz crossed for the near post and the 24-year-old flicked his header to the back post beating second choice keeper Vitus Eicher.
Heidenheim managed to pull a consolation goal back in the 79th minute via the head of Adrian Beck. Too little too late for the visitors who bow out of the cup after a second successive loss to Seoane’s side.
Kaiserslautern 3 – Köln 2
Taking on Bundesliga outfit Köln in Betzenberg was high-flying Kaiserslautern. Die Roten Teufel took a somewhat fortuitous lead before the 20th minute – Richmond Tachie’s effort took a vicious deflection off Hübers leaving Schwäbe rooted to the spot.
The club from the Rhineland Palatinate doubled their advantage to 2-0 just minutes after the restart. Marlon Ritter put the fleet-footed Kenny-Prince Redondo into space on the left flank to drill beneath Schwäbe. Ritter put himself in the spotlight just after the hour – his close range freekick wrongfooted Schwäbe once more.
Jan Thielmann reduced the deficit for Die Geißböcke with 20 minutes to play. The Lautern lead was cut to the minimum as the final whistle approached. Mark Uth rose highest to beat Luthe, but skipper Florian Kainz would receive his marching orders for a cynical foul reducing Köln to 10-men. Kaiserslautern managed to hang on and advance to the Round of 16.