Six-goal Hertha BSC crush Kaiserslautern to reach Pokal quarter finals

Hertha Berlin played host to fellow 2.Bundesliga rivals 1.FC Kaiserslautern this evening in the DfB-Pokal. With a place in the quarter-finals on the line, the hosts from the German capital cruised to a 6-1 win in what was a simply ruthless performance from Stefan Leitl's side. 

In perhaps their most clinical display of the season, Hertha ripped into their visitors from the Pfalz and opened up a lead inside 6 minutes. Maxwell Gyamfi's woeful back pass fell to the lurking Luca Schüler who rounded Simoni for a tap-in finish. 

Suddenly the scoreboard read 3-0 as Stefan Leitl's men struck twice in a ten-minute spell before the half-hour mark. Hertha flooded forward on the break as Marten Winkler left Jan Elvedi and Marlon Ritter for dead before cooly slotting past Simoni. 

Having just hit the post through Michael Cuisance, Winkler cleverly left Dárdai's inch-perfect cross to allow Eichhorn finish from close range. Amazingly, Kaiserslautern pulled a goal back as Ritter fizzed a wonderful effort in off the post from a considerable distance. 

Torsten Lieberknecht's side took some spirit from the goal into the early exchanges in the second-half. Still, despite controlling possession, it was Hertha who went close again as Fabian Reese whipped his effort around the post. 

Any fears of a comeback in the capital were swiftly put to rest prior to the hour mark. Cuisance thrived on Kaiserslautern's indecision in midfield. Driving into the space, he fed Schüler who, despite the unconvincing finish, squeezed the ball through Simoni's legs.

As Kaiserslautern's night deteriorated, Hertha's got sweeter yet. Simoni's misplaced pass fell straight to Reese who unselfishly squared it to Dawid Kownacki. The final score read 6-1 when Maurice Krattenmacher benefited from Cuisance's hard work with a precise shot that snuck in off the post.