DFB-Pokal Review: St. Pauli and Illertissen go through on penalties

Nürnberg’s season faced yet another setback, while St. Pauli squeezed through a tricky challenge at home against Norderstedt.

Two DFB-Pokal ties went all the way into penalty shootouts on Saturday. The result: the second upset of the first round.

FV Illertissen 3-3 (6-5 on penalties) 1. FC Nürnberg

Miroslav Klose showed plenty of promise last season, but he could lose his job now as Nürnberg lost the first three competitive games of the campaign. After going scoreless in the first weeks of 2. Bundesliga, three goals in Illertissen weren’t enough to keep them in the cup.

The team from Regionalliga Bayern took a surprising 2-0 half-time lead against the traditional club. Goals from Berkay Yilmaz, Artem Stepanov and Semir Telalovic nearly pulled a comeback win for Nürnberg. The former duo joined Nürnberg on loan, while Telalovic signed from Ulm this summer.

However, the fourth-tier team forced extra-time through Tobias Rühle’s 90th-minute header from a corner-kick. Telalovic, who scored his goal from the spot, started the shootout with a successful attempt, but Illertissen completed the surprise with a 6-5 win.

Eintracht Norderstedt 0-0 (2-3 on penalties) St. Pauli

The fourth-tier side was supposed to have a home advantage, but the game was played at the Millerntor-Stadion based on the request of the neighbouring clubs. However, Norderstedt managed to keep a clean sheet against the team struggling for goals last season.

Norderstedt’s goalkeeper Lars Huxsohl faced 41 St. Pauli shots, and he was also impressive in the low-scoring penalty shootout. Nonetheless, the Bundesliga side booked their ticket for the next round after only half of the penalties were converted between the two sides.