German clubs Werder Bremen and Hertha Berlin, represented by Estonian internationals Karl Jakob Hein and Soufian Gouram respectively, both booked their places in the second round of the DFB-Pokal after overcoming lower-division opposition.
Karl Jakob Hein was unavailable due to injury as Werder Bremen eased to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Oberliga (fifth-tier) side Lüneburger Hansa.
Werder took control early, opening the scoring in the 11th minute through Denmark international Jens Stage. The Bundesliga side added two more goals after the break to safely progress to the next round without any major difficulties.
Hein’s side now turn their attention to the start of the Bundesliga season, with Werder travelling to Freiburg next Sunday for their league opener.
Hertha Berlin had a far more difficult evening, eventually edging past 3. Liga side Saarbrücken on penalties after a dramatic cup tie.
Twenty-year-old Estonian midfielder Soufian Gouram once again started in the Hertha starting line-up and was substituted with his side leading 1-0. However, Saarbrücken – who famously reached the DFB-Pokal semi-finals three seasons ago – found a stoppage-time equaliser to force extra time.
Neither side managed to find a winner during the additional 30 minutes, sending the tie to a penalty shootout. Hertha converted all four of their spot-kicks, while Saarbrücken scored only two of their four attempts, allowing the Berlin club to advance to the next round.
Hertha’s attention now switches back to the 2. Bundesliga, where Gouram and his teammates travel to Eintracht Braunschweig on Friday.
