SAARBRUECKEN: Kaiserslautern scored twice in the second half to earn a 2-0 victory at third-tier club Saarbruecken on Tuesday to end the hosts’ dream run in the competition and reach their first German Cup final in more than 20 years.

Marlon Ritter put the visitors in front after a costly error by Saarbruecken keeper Tim Schreiber. Ritter’s header from an Almamy Toure cross slipped through the hands and legs of Schreiber as Kaiserslautern led after 53 minutes.

Toure’s header in the 75th minute made sure of a place in the final for second division Kaiserslautern for the first time since 2003.

It also snapped a scintillating run for Saarbruecken, who had eliminated three Bundesliga clubs in the previous three rounds, including Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Moenchengladbach.

“That hurts so much,” Saarbruecken coach Ruediger Ziehl told ARD. “We didn’t have to lose that game. We paid for one mistake.”

The Bundesliga 2 team will face either Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen or Fortuna Duesseldorf in the final in Berlin on May 25 as they bid to win the title for a third time.

The last second-tier club to reach the final was Duisburg 13 years ago, when they lost 5-0 to Schalke.

“We didn’t allow them to counter against us. That’s how Bayern Munich failed here, that’s how Borussia Moenchengladbach failed here,” said Kaiserslautern boss Friedhelm Funkel.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2024