DFB Pokal 2011, Second Round: Bayern Munich Run Riot, Bundesliga Sides Avoid Upsets

For the second consecutive day, no German top flight sides lost matches to lower division clubs. The entire second round of the 2011 DFB-Pokal has gone off without a hitch for the Bundesliga first division sides, except for the ones who were unfortunate and drew other Bundesliga teams. The third round of the competition will now feature the best from both the first and second divisions, which is sure to create a lot of intriguing matchups. There’s some romance in small sides making deep cup runs, but it’s hard to complain about high quality football matches getting made.

There was a minor bit of intrigue surrounding this matchup in the USA, with Edson Buddle getting a start, but him and his team showed why they’re in the second division on Wednesday night. Heralded 19-year-old starlet Takishi Usami scored a goal off the bench, just one of six in an absolute rout.

They needed extra time to do it, but Mainz are through in a minor upset, defeating Hannover at home on a 93rd minute goal by Andreas Ivanschitz. This one had some incredible late drama, as Mainz gave away a penalty in the final minute of extra time, but Hannover’s Didier Ya Konan missed to put Mainz through.

If you like Cinderella stories and you think small sides making noise is the best thing about domestic cups, Holstein Kiel are the team to root for. Yes, they are top of the fourth division, but they’re still a fourth division side. They play in a division with four reserve sides for Bundesliga clubs and two reserve sides for Bundesliga.2 club. And yet, they’ve defeated a 2.Bundesliga team that were not in the top flight too long ago, with Rafael Kazior and Fiete Sykora scoring their two goals in a win over Duisburg.

No Neuer? No Fährmann? No problem. Youngster Lars Unnerstall has kept his shutout streak alive, keeping a clean sheet against Karlsruhe. The Bundesliga side left it late, but they were finally able to get a win with two second half goals, avoiding extra time. Klass-Jan Huntelaar netted in the 81st minute, then Joel Matip added the second goal two minutes later.

Hertha looked like they were in trouble for a while, but made it look easy in the final half hour with three goals in the last 30 minutes. Gustavo Ramos, Pierre-Michel Lasogga, and Nikita Rukavytsya were the goal scorers.

Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern almost had to go to penalties against recently relegated Frankfurt, as both teams were scoreless through 118 minutes, but the top flight side were rescued. 21-year-old Richard Sukuta-Pasu, who has not yet lived up to his teenage hype, scored the winner in the 119th minute to send his club to the third round.

Nürnburg looked like they were going to cruise to an easy victory when Alexander Esswein and Julian Weissmeier put the team up 2-0 in the second half, but Ronny König produced some late drama, pulling a goal back in the 78th minute. The second division side weren’t able to find another, however, and the top flight Nürnburg are through to the next round.

Christoph Hemlein scored in the fourth minute for first division Stuttgart, playing at home, and effectively ended the game right then and there. Cacau and Ibrahima Traore provided the insurance goals.