Fate and Fortuna

Fortuna Düsseldorf, the second Bundesliga's top team, could not have possibly kept their fans in suspense any longer in their German Cup match against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night.

Throughout the ninety minutes of regulation, the thirty minutes of extra time, and the first three penalty kicks of the shootout, the home crowd at Düsseldorf's ESPRIT Arena knew that an upset of Bundesliga giants Dortmund was still possible.

But as quick as Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller could spring to his left and block Thomas Bröker's attempt in the penalty shootout, Düsseldorf's hopes of advancing past the round of 16 in the German Cup were dashed.

"Football is so brutal," said Düsseldorf's coach, Norbert Meier, after the match. "If it's 0-0 in a Cup match, it goes to penalties, and there can only be one winner. Dortmund converted five excellent penalties, and we missed one."

Hanging with the big boys

Düsseldorf were undoubtedly underdogs coming into the match. Despite their Bundesliga-record 41 points in the first half of the season, putting them at the top of the second league table, and an undefeated streak that stretched from last spring until last Friday's loss to SC Paderborn, Dortmund was still Dortmund - the same team that beat Bayern Munich in Munich earlier this season and the one currently sitting in second place in the Bundesliga table.

But even with a bitter loss, Düsseldorf proved that should they make it into the Bundesliga next year, they can certainly hang with the big boys. Meier's side fought tooth and nail against an opponent that had the potential to crush them.

They tested Dortmund's keeper Roman Weidenfeller numerous times, and their back row - led by an outstanding Assani Lukimya - was extremely effective at keeping Dortmund at bay. Whatever did get through was expertly handled by Michael Ratajczak in goal.

Missing finishing touch

Düsseldorf had the advantage of playing a man up after Dortmund's Patrick Owomoyela was shown his second yellow card in the 34th minute and sent off. Even with an extra man, though, Düsseldorf always seemed just half a step behind Dortmund.

Long balls often missed their targets, and counterattacks ran out of steam before they ever really got going. Düsseldorf used the wings effectively to create opportunities, but the final piece of the puzzle was generally missing.

"Dortmund played well with ten men, but we still should have done more and could have wrapped up the game early on," said Düsseldorf defender Jens Langeneke. "We have to accept the fact that we didn't do enough. Up front, we were lacking in precision."

Both teams were perfect through three rounds of penalties before Weidenfeller got the better of Bröker. By the final round, Ratajczak had to hold against Dortmund's last kicker, Ivan Perisic, for a chance to keep the penalties going, but Perisic converted easily and the game was over.

"There were a lot of things going against us," said Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp, citing Owomoyela's booking, or the sudden illness of striker Shinji Kagawa that kept him from playing, "and to still end up as the winner is something that happens very rarely."

Bayern advance

Bayern Munich may not have gone completely to the end of the wire like Dortmund did against Düsseldorf, but they also won in dramatic fashion against second-league side Bochum.

Hosts Bochum took the lead in the 26th minute on a goal from midfielder Giovanni Federico. That lead lasted until the end of the half, and Bochum must have gone into the locker room at least thinking about an upset, even if it was too early to mention out loud.

They would have had serious doubts, then, upon coming out for the second half when they saw Mario Gomez subbed in from Bayern. While he didn't shoot the tying goal in the 52nd minute himself - Toni Kroos handled that - Gomez provided the assist.

It looked like that game might head to extra time as the final minutes of regulation ticked away, but Arjen Robben put the guests ahead in the 91st minute for a final score of 2-1.

Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes was full of praise for Bochum after the game, and no one would blame them if they headed into the final minutes of the game thinking they'd get an another 30 minutes to try and take down Bayern - least of all Arjen Robben.

"I thought we were going to have to play another half hour," he said after the game.

Greuther Fürth knocks off Nuremberg

While Düsseldorf and Dortmund were tacking on every extra minute they could in their game, Hoffenheim had wrapped up their win against Augsburg after just 49 minutes.

The two teams went into halftime tied at 1-1, but Hoffenheim's Vedad Ibisevic chalked up the game-winner just a few minutes into the second half, making Augsburg one of two Bundesliga teams to be eliminated on Tuesday night.

The other was FC Nuremberg, who lost 1-0 to second league side Greuther Fürth. That game was decided early on as well, with Edgar Prib nudging in a header in the 15th minute after teammate Christopher Nöthe headed a corner his way.

The round of 16 of the German Cup continues on Wednesday, with Hertha Berlin facing Kaiserslautern, Holstein Kiel hosting Mainz, Stuttgart taking on Hamburg, and Borussia Mönchengladbach playing Schalke.

Author: Matt Zuvela, Düsseldorf
Editor: Holly Fox