Schalke 04 were stunned 2-1 by third-division SG Dynamo Dresden in the first round of the DFB Pokal on Monday.
Hamburg SV squeezed into the second round when goalkeeper Rene Adler saved two penalties in a shootout win over third-division Energie Cottbus.
Hamburg rallied to tie the game 1-1 and went ahead in extra-time, only to see Cottbus level late for 2-2.
Photo: Reuters
Schalke, who are to play in the UEFA Champions League this season, became the fifth Bundesliga team to be knocked out in the first round, following weekend losses by FSV Mainz 05, VfB Stuttgart, Augsburg and SC Paderborn 07, while Dresden celebrated their return to the competition with a huge upset.
Dresden were excluded from last season’s tournament because of fan trouble.
“We failed to apply much pressure up front,” Schalke coach Jens Keller said. “We lost possession too easily, we didn’t keep the ball, we were slow. At least five, six players played poorly.”
Dresden took the lead through a penalty by Justin Eilers in the 24th minute and Nils Teixeira doubled the lead with a superb volley from the edge of the penalty area in the 49th.
Joel Matip cut the deficit in the 78th minute, but Schalke could not score again and Dresden reached the second round for the first time since 1991.
A header by Hamburg’s Heiko Westermann from a free-kick by Rafael van der Vaart in the 70th minute canceled out a second-minute penalty by Manuel Zeitz, given away by Adler.
Van der Vaart then curled in a free-kick in the 96th minute, but Sven Michel sent the match into the shootout by scoring in the 105th.
Also on Monday, Heidenheim beat second-division rivals Union Berlin 2-1, while fourth-tier Kickers Offenbach upset second-division side Ingolstadt 04 in a shootout following a goalless 120 minutes.
The Bundesliga season begins on Friday when Bayern Munich start their defense of the title against VfL Wolfsburg.
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