Darmstadt stun Bundesliga debutants Elversberg 2-0 to reach the DFB-Pokal round of 16

SV Elversberg's first season in the Bundesliga has been a story of scoring goals in bunches and conceding almost as many back. In the DFB-Pokal second round, at home to a 2. Bundesliga side anchored near the bottom of the table, that same shape cost them the cup. Elversberg dominated the ball and the shot count all night and lost 2-0 to SV Darmstadt 98.

The damage was done inside six minutes, and by a player who had not started the match. Nicolas Verkooijen went down injured early on, and Darmstadt sent on Lars Kehl in his place. Almost immediately, Kehl stepped up to a free kick, and his shot came back off the post and in — Darmstadt 1-0 up before Elversberg, playing a cup tie for the first time as a top-flight club, had settled into the game.

Elversberg dominated, Darmstadt doubled up

Elversberg responded the way they have all season: by taking the game to the opposition. They had the better part of 80% of possession in the first half alone and were already up to 14 shots by the interval, yet could not find a way past a well-organised Darmstadt back line. Noel Futkeu's best chance of the night, shortly after the restart, came back off the woodwork rather than going in.

Darmstadt made the chances they did get count instead. Ten minutes into the second half, Lance Duijvestijn's corner found Milan Smit, another of the club's summer signings, who finished to make it 2-0. From there, manager Florian Kohfeldt's side defended what they had, conceding plenty of territory but nothing of real substance until the final whistle.

Match facts

• 6' — Lars Kehl (Darmstadt), free kick off the post
• 56' — Milan Smit (Darmstadt), from a Lance Duijvestijn corner
• 53' — Yellow card, Milan Smit (Darmstadt)
• 72' — Yellow card, Raoul Petretta (Darmstadt)
• 90+3' — Yellow card, Lasse Günther (Elversberg)

A result that cuts both ways

For Elversberg, it is a reminder that the same attacking, high-possession approach that has produced wins over Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach this season has also let in plenty at the other end — four against Augsburg, four against RB Leipzig, now two in a cup tie they had every statistical chance to win. The club's cup history is a short one: this was only their 13th DFB-Pokal appearance and their first as a Bundesliga side, and it ended at the first hurdle.

For Darmstadt, sitting among the 2. Bundesliga's lowest sides domestically, the cup has become the one competition going right. Kehl and Smit, both summer arrivals, have now combined for the goals that eliminated a top-flight opponent, and the club advance to the round of 16 — the draw for which has not yet been made.