Minnows give Bayern a German Cup scare
FOURTH-TIER part-timers Roedinghausen made mighty Bayern Munich work for a 2-1 away win in the second round of the German Cup yesterday.
It was a poor performance from reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern, and the win came at a price as Thiago Alcantara had to be helped off with 15 minutes to go.
“We have got through but everyone needs to think about their performance here,” said goalscorer Thomas Muller.
“We played well for the first 20 minutes, but then we made a lot of mistakes and became nervous.”
Bayern were 2-0 up after just 13 minutes in Osnabrueck when stand-in striker Sandro Wagner netted and Muller converted a penalty in freezing conditions.
Bayern wasted the chance to increase their lead on 23 minutes when Renato Sanches fired his penalty attempt against the crossbar.
Despite trailing by two at the break, Roedinghausen dreamt of an upset after midfielder Linus Meyer drilled in on 50 minutes to cause nervous glances in the Bayern ranks.
With 15 minutes left, Roedinghausen goalkeeper Niclas Heimann pulled off a remarkable save to deny Franck Ribery but there was ultimately no fairytale for the hosts.
Elsewhere, fourth-tier Ulm, who knocked out holders Eintracht Frankfurt in the first round, bowed out after being thumped 5-1 at home by Bundesliga strugglers Fortuna Duesseldorf.
Wolfsburg carved out a 2-0 win at Hanover 96 in an allBundesliga clash with their towering Dutch striker Wout Weghorst claiming his third goal in as many games.
Hertha Berlin also booked their place in the third round with a 2-0 win at third-division Darmstadt.
Hertha captain Vedad Ibisevic scored just seconds after coming off the bench before defender Maximilian Mittelstaedt added a late second. – AFP