BERLIN, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund crushed lower league side Lubeck 4-1 on Saturday as three first-half goals set them on course for the second round of the German Cup.
BVB lived up to their billing as favorites from the kick-off and struck after less than three minutes. Pascal Gross' corner was headed home by Waldemar Anton at the far post.
As the game wore on, Dortmund dominated possession but couldn't find a way past a well-placed Lubeck defense. It was a fortunate penalty that gave BVB their second goal when Emre Can slotted the spot-kick into the top left corner.
Dortmund put the game beyond doubt just before the break when Gross' second assist of the night set up Julian Brandt for the third goal.
After the restart, Lubeck came out guns blazing as Obinna Iloka dispossessed Brandt before hammering the ball past Dortmund backup goalkeeper Alexander Meyer from the edge of the penalty area in the 55th minute.
The hosts gained momentum when Emanuel Adou danced through BVB territory before hitting the woodwork from the inside right on the hour mark.
Two minutes later, however, Dortmund took the wind out of Lubeck's sails when substitute Julien Duranville restored a three-goal lead.
"It was a good start, and it was important that we won the game. There was no alternative. We can improve, but it was a good first competitive game. We've already shown good initial approaches," said Gross.
In other first-round matches, Leipzig came from behind to beat Rot-Weiss Essen 4-1. Borussia Monchengladbach also conceded an early goal, but the Foals bounced back to beat Erzgebirge Aue 3-1. Ruthless Heidenheim thrashed FC 08 Villingen 4-0. Junior Adamu's brace helped Freiburg to a 4-0 win over Osnabruck. Union Berlin battled their way into the second round as Yorbe Vertessen's sole goal gave them a 1-0 win over Greifswald, while Holstein Kiel edged Alemannia Aachen 3-2. ■
微信扫描下方的二维码阅读本文
