DFB-Pokal: 2. Bundesliga cellar-dwellers Darmstadt eliminate toothless Elversberg

Darmstadt stunned Bundesliga debutants Elversberg in the second round of the DFB-Pokal. Goals from summer signings Lars Kehl and Milan Smit secured a place in the Round of 16 for Florian Kohfeldt’s men.

Kehl didn’t start the game, but he put the visitors ahead with a spectacular free-kick in the sixth minute. The midfielder came in place of the injured Nicolas Verkooijen two minutes before his splendid effort found the net after hitting the post.

Despite enjoying 80% of the possession in the opening exchanges, Elversberg failed to recover from the early setback. By half-time, the hosts had 14 attempts, while Darmstadt had no sight of Elversberg’s goal after their goal.

And it’s two from two for the 2. Bundesliga side ten minutes after the restart when Milan Smit converted from Lance Duijvestijn’s corner-kick. Noel Futkeu nearly halved the deficit immediately, but the woodwork denied him a first Elversberg goal.

Despite Elversberg’s dominance by almost every metric, the visitors held on to book their place in the Round of 16. The two teams will hope to return to winning ways in their leagues when they entertain Mainz and Magdeburg, respectively.