The Stuttgarter Kickers caused a huge surprise in the DFB Cup. The Oberliga team defeated SpVgg Greuther Fürth and advanced to the second round of the cup.
Goals from Denis Zagaria (9th minute) and David Braig (88th) provided the Stuttgarter Kickers with a big surprise in the first round of the DFB Cup on Saturday evening. The fifth division team defeated second division team Greuther Fürth 2-0 in their home stadium on the Waldau.
The Oberliga club from Stuttgart had to wait seven years for this game. For the first time since 2015, the Kickers played a game in the DFB Cup and the Swabians were clearly looking forward to the game. Although the fifth division gave the ball to the three divisions higher SpVgg Greuther Fürth at the beginning of the game, they did not hide at all.
Stuttgarter Kickers take the lead early
The first chance of the game was given to the Stuttgarter Kickers. Fürht’s captain Branimir Hrgota underestimated a corner kick from Luigi Campagna in the ninth minute at the far post, and Denis Zagaria, who was left alone, headed past Fürth’s keeper Leon Schaffran to make it 1-0. The perfect start for the hosts.
Just a minute later, Fürth’s Ragnar Ache appeared in front of the Kickers goal. However, the 24-year-old missed a 1-1 draw against Kickers goalkeeper Ramon Castelluci. After that, the game calmed down, Stuttgart gave the ball back to the Fürthers, who, however, hardly managed to score. Fürth should have equalized only in the 33rd minute of the game. However, Tobias Raschl missed the Stuttgart case freestanding. So it went 1-0 for Stuttgart at the break.
Kickers concentrated, Fürth with a lot of ball possession
The picture did not change at the beginning of the second half either. The Stuttgarter Kickers invested a lot, ran up against Fürth at times and tried to keep the game association away from their own goal. Fürth tried to control the game, but hardly had any big chances. This is how a game developed with which the Swabians could be significantly happier than the guests from Fürth.
After about an hour, the Stuttgarter Kickers appeared more and more often in front of the Fürth goal and even had the opportunity to make it 2-0 through Paul Polauke in the 65th minute. But Schaffran defused the shot from a tight angle. Nevertheless: the Stuttgarters gained more self-confidence by the minute, the game became more and more open without the two teams allowing any great chances.
Braig puts the lid on
Only in the final minutes did Fürth become a little more compelling, which also opened up space for Kickers to counterattack. In the 88th minute of the game, Zagaria set the stage for substitute Braig, who let Haddadi run into the void and netted to make it 2-0. The rest was Stuttgart ecstasy. The Stuttgarter Kickers triumphed 2-0 over SpVgg Greuther Fürth and were able to celebrate entering the second round of the DFB Cup.
Stuttgarter Kickers – SpVgg Greuther Furth 2: 0 (1: 0)
Stuttgart: Castellucci – Moos, Zagaria, Kolbe, Polauke – Campagna – Maier (85 Braig), Blank, Kiefer (90 Eroglu), Riehle (71 Berisha) – Dicklhuber – Trainer: Ünal
Fuerth: Schaffran – Asta, Willems (75th Green), Haddadi, Itter – Christiansen – Tillman, Raschl (61st Sieve) – Dudziak (86th Mhamdi) – Hrgota, Ache – Trainer: Schneider
Referee: Timo Gerach (Landau-Queichheim)
Gates: 1-0 Zagaria (9′), 2-0 Braig (89′)
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