1.FC Kaiserslautern deservedly reached the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup. Richmond Tachie made the decisive moves against 1.FC Nürnberg and the attacker became the match winner.
This is certainly how Dimitrios Grammozis imagined his debut as coach of 1.FC Kaiserslautern. With a committed performance against 1.FC Nürnberg, his team ultimately deservedly won 2-0 (0-0). This makes the Palatinate team’s entry into the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup perfect.
“It was a very intense game. We only had a few days of preparation in which we were able to implement things. That’s a good start, but now we have to move on,” Grammozis told Sportschau.
The FCK prevailed due to their greater commitment in the 90 minutes. Coach Cristian Fiel’s opposing team showed an overall decent performance and was disappointing for long stretches. Richmond Tachie (75th) and Ragnar Ache (78th) scored the goals for the Lauterers.
“We made crucial mistakes on defense and we weren’t compelling enough on offense. If the opponent takes two chances, then you have to speak of a deserved elimination,” said club coach Fiel after the game on the Sportschau microphone.
Nuremberg with problems
Kaiserslautern started energetically and put Nuremberg under pressure from the start. Grammozis had given his team an early offensive pressing, which at least resulted in increased possession of the ball. Despite some promising approaches to the goal, a goal wasn’t to come for a long time.
The “Club” had difficulty leaving their own half with a constructive build-up game. It took 14 minutes until Nuremberg had its first shot, but Benjamin Goller slipped away during his attempt.
Stefan Kersthold, Sportschau, December 5th, 2023 8:07 p.m
The game then rippled along a bit on the extremely slippery grass until Lautern’s Marlon Ritter (22′) also tried a long-range shot, but FCN goalkeeper Christian Mathenia was able to parry it. As a result, a hectic game developed with no significant scoring opportunities on either side.
Kaiserslautern clearly tried harder
The Nuremberg team found their way better into the second half and had their biggest chance to score so far after 53 minutes. Ahmet Gürleyen headed the ball from close range, FCK goalkeeper Julian Krahl barely steered the ball around the goal post. After that, hardly anything happened in the penalty areas of both teams. Many duels and a low level of play characterized the picture. Chances to score remained in short supply.
However, the Palatinate team were much more trying and wanted to score the opening goal. But for a long time there was a lack of playful ideas and also the accuracy of the templates and the finishes.
Lea Wagner, sports show, December 5th, 2023 9:45 p.m
Higher end result possible
Tachie redeemed the spectators in the Betzenberg stadium after 75 minutes when he held out his knee after a cross from Jean Zimmer from the right side and converted the ball from six meters away to take the lead. And just three minutes later the preliminary decision was made: Ragnar Ache scored after a pass from Tachie to make the final score 2-0.
In the last few minutes, the Lauter team could have made the score even higher, but Ritter hit the crossbar with a free kick and Ache’s direct shot was saved by a Nuremberg defender on the goal line.