Werder Bremen suffer shock German Cup defeat

August 22, 2016 | 10:35

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BERLIN: Bundesliga side Werder Bremen kicked off their new season by being dumped out of the German Cup in the first round with a 2-1 defeat at third-tier club Sportfreunde Lotte on Sunday (Aug 21).

Lotte's goalkeeper Benedikt Fernandez, goalkeeper coach Bastian Görrissen and Alexander Langlitz celebrate after a German Cup win over Werder Bremen in Lotte, western Germany, on Aug 21, 2016. (Photo: AFP/Guido Kirchner)

Viktor Skripnik's Bremen fell behind early on to a goal by defender Matthias Rahn, but Austrian international Zlatko Junuzovic levelled on the stroke of half-time.

Lotte midfielder Andre Dej struck though in the 54th minute, and the home side held on for a famous victory over the six-time winners.

There were no other major shocks, but plenty of top-flight teams still struggled elsewhere on Sunday.

Bayer Leverkusen were given a scare, but edged to a 2-1 win at fifth-division SC Hauenstein thanks to goals from Javier Hernandez and Karim Bellarabi.

Eintracht Frankfurt could only scrape past Magdeburg on penalties after being held to a 1-1 draw, while Mainz also progressed on spot-kicks at fourth-tier outfit Unterhaching after blowing a 3-1 lead in the 90th minute to draw 3-3.

Ingolstadt were held to a 0-0 stalemate at Erzgebirge Aue but came on top 8-7 in a marathon shoot-out, while Salomon Kalou scored the winning spot-kick as Hertha Berlin edged out third-division side Regensburg on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

There were no such problems for Darmstadt though, who thrashed Bremer SV 7-0 to ease into round two, while Andrej Kramaric grabbed a hat-trick as Hoffenheim put six past Egestorf-Langreder.

AFP

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