VfB Stuttgart got off lightly in the first round of the cup in Braunschweig. The players weren’t satisfied, but Ermedin Demirovic hopes this match will give them a boost.
After losing the Super Cup to Bayern (1-2), Stuttgart also lost to Union Berlin at the start of the new season. So there was already a bit of pressure on Tuesday’s cup match in Braunschweig. In addition, the Swabians are entering the DFB Cup as defending champions.
The match got off to a terrible start, with a mistake by keeper Alexander Nübel putting the visitors behind. “That was a very poor start, very tough for the team, we had to swallow it a bit,” said the keeper on ARD radio, adding: “We conceded a lot of goals, that can’t happen. Then it has to go to penalties, and luckily we were able to pull it off. It’s very hard for the guys to go 120 minutes, it hurts today, but we’re happy to be through.”
After falling behind early, Stuttgart came back and turned the game around before halftime. It developed into a thrilling cup match that went back and forth. With the score at 3-3, the game went into extra time, and with the score at 4-4, it finally went to penalties. “Penalty shootouts are nasty, I don’t like them at all. I’ve experienced it from all sides, missing or scoring a decisive one. I’m glad the ball went in today,“ said striker Ermedin Demirovic, who scored twice in the game and also scored in the penalty shootout.
”Eintracht played an outstanding game.”
All in all, it was a thrilling cup game, great publicity for soccer. Neither team deserved to lose this match. “These are the nights that people always talk about. A cup battle, a tough game, away from home. It was brutal for neutral spectators to watch. For us, it was nerve-wracking, of course,” said Demirovic.
The striker was also very impressed by the performance of the opponents: “But I have to say that Eintracht played an outstanding game. It was difficult because Braunschweig had a plan, didn’t give up, and threw themselves into every situation. We showed good morale and can leave the game with our heads held high.”
So VfB got off lightly and recorded their first win of the still young season. This game will definitely resonate for a while. “I don’t know how well I’ll be able to sleep tonight, but the game will be on my mind for a while,” Nübel admitted.
