US forward Matt Taylor scored a hat-trick and set up another goal in the German Cup on Sunday as third-tier club Preussen Muenster beat top-tier team Werder Bremen 4-2 in extra-time.
Bremen were one of four Bundesliga sides to be knocked out by lower-ranked opposition in the first round of competition, with Hamburg SV, Nuremberg and Eintracht Frankfurt all losing on the hottest day of the year across much of Germany.
Taylor’s scoring exploits began after former Juventus forward Eljero Elia put Bremen ahead with an exquisite strike just before halftime.
Photo: Reuters
The 30-year Taylor equalized and then canceled out Niclas Fuellkrug’s 67th-minute strike to take the game into extra-time, in which he set up Dima Nazarov for the third goal.
Bremen defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos was sent off in the 108th minute and Taylor completed his hat-trick 10 minutes later.
“Taylor was ice-cold in front of goal,” Muenster coach Pavel Dotchev said. “We’re very happy to progress.”
Photo: Reuters
Another third-tier club, Karlsruher SC, came from behind to eliminate Hamburg with a 4-2 win, while fourth-tier side TSV Havelse beat Nuremberg 3-2, with Marc Vucinovic scoring in the first half of extra-time to seal a historic win for the little-known club.
Frankfurt got off to a bad start at second-tier Erzgebirge Aue when goalkeeper Kevin Trapp was sent off in the 19th minute for a foul on Jakub Sylvestr.
Thomas Paulus scored the resulting penalty, Sylvestr made it 2-0 in the 61st minute and he wrapped up a 3-0 win in the final minute.
Fourth-tier side Wormatia Worms provided another shock result with a 2-1 win over Hertha BSC Berlin, who were relegated from the top tier last season.
There were no such problems for Schalke 04, who enjoyed a comfortable 5-0 win at third-tier Saarbruecken through two goals each from Ciprian Marica and 18-year-old Julian Draxler. Greek defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos had given the 2010-2011 German Cup winners the lead.
“Some players were out, others replaced them well,” Schalke coach Huub Stevens said. “That’s how it’s fun.”
Hannover 96 beat Noettingen 6-1 and second-tier 1860 Munich thrashed fifth-tier Hennef 6-0 to progress. Arminia Bielefeld overcame Paderborn 3-1, while Aalen beat Ingolstadt 3-0 in a tie between second-tier sides.
In the late games, FSV Mainz 05 strolled to a 4-0 win over fifth-tier SV Rossbach/Verscheid, Fortuna Duesseldorf beat third-tier Wacker Burghausen 1-0 and Kaiserslautern won 3-1 at Hansa Rostock.
Temperatures earlier reached 40oC at some venues before kickoff, forcing stewards to use water cannons to cool fans. Games were also held up midway through each half so players could take on liquids.
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