SC Freiburg has qualified for the first time in club history for the final of the DFB Pokal. The number five of the Bundesliga was 1-3 too strong for Hamburger SV, which was unable to stunt in its own stadium on Tuesday evening with Mark Flek under the bar. Freiburg will face RB Leipzig or Union Berlin on May 21 in the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
HSV – the current number six in the 2.Bundesliga with Ludovit Reis in the starting eleven – was the biggest surprise in the semifinals of the DFB Pokal and settled on the way to the last four with 1.FC Köln, among others. However, it soon became clear in Imtech’s own Arena that a new stunt was not in the cards. The game was only eleven minutes old when Nils Petersen headed the opening goal against the ropes on behalf of Freiburg, after goalkeeper Daniel Heuer was unable to clear a cross that had been reduced from a corner.
Nicolas Höfler already doubled the margin six minutes later: the midfielder was given space on the edge of the penalty area to lash out and saw his shot via Sebastian Schonlau hit the ropes. All hopes were finally thrown into the trash for HSV after 35 minutes of play. Nico Schlotterbeck slipped in the home side’s penalty area, after which Moritz Heyer apparently kicked him in an attempt to play the ball. Referee Deniz Aytekin awarded a penalty after VAR interference, which was converted into a goal by Vincenzo Grifo.
The supreme half hour turned out to be sufficient to reach the final, because the margin was no longer in danger. HSV nevertheless insisted in the second half and received a wage for work shortly before the end, when Robert Glatzel determined the final score at 1-3. The second finalist will become clear on Wednesday evening, when the other semifinal between RB Leipzig and Union Berlin is scheduled in Leipzig.
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