SG Sonnenhof Großaspach beats Arminia Bielefeld 3-0 on penalties in DFB-Pokal

Shootout victory after 120 minutes

SG Sonnenhof Großaspach advanced to the second round of the DFB-Pokal after defeating 2. Bundesliga side Arminia Bielefeld 3-0 in a penalty shootout. The match between the 3. Liga newcomers and the 2025 cup finalists stood at 2-2 following 90 minutes of regular time and 30 minutes of extra time. The decisive shootout took place in front of the traveling Bielefeld supporters, where all three penalty takers for Großaspach converted their shots. Goalkeeper Maximilian Reule stopped consecutive efforts from Bielefeld players Maximilian Bauer and Tim Handwerker. Arminia forward Roberts Uldrikis subsequently sent the third shot over the crossbar to conclude the shootout.

The 32-year-old goalkeeper initially did not realize that the contest had ended after the third missed penalty by Bielefeld. When Reule saw his teammates running across the pitch towards him, he sprinted toward the home supporters before heading to the locker room celebrations.

It was fun to run away from the guys for once. I think nobody managed to keep up.

Physical exhaustion and coach premonition

The physical demands of playing 120 minutes against higher-tier opposition left the Großaspach squad depleted towards the end of extra time. Attacking player Tim Rossmann explained that he felt completely exhausted and had to fight against nausea during the closing stages of the game. Großaspach head coach Pascal Reinhardt had discussed the fixture with his parents on the morning of the match, expressing a specific wish for a penalty shootout. When his parents raised concerns about potentially losing from the penalty spot, Reinhardt told them that a loss would not happen.

Following the final whistle, the 33-year-old manager experienced intense emotion on the sideline. Reinhardt stated that he was proud of the team and noted that the mood among the players would return to pure joy and celebration during their post-match gathering.

After the match I did not even know where to go, what to do.

Club history and second-round draw

The victory represents the first time that SG Sonnenhof Großaspach has reached the second round of the DFB-Pokal. The self-described village club, whose most prominent supporter is German schlager singer Andrea Berg, had previously qualified for the national cup tournament on three separate occasions. In each previous campaign, the team was eliminated in the opening round. Großaspach lost 1-4 to VfB Stuttgart in 2009, suffered a 1-2 defeat against FSV Frankfurt in 2012, and lost 0-4 to Bayer Leverkusen in 2025.

The club will discover its next opponent on 5 September 2026, when the official draw for the second round takes place at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The draw event will be broadcast live on ARD-Sportschau, with second-round matches scheduled to take place at the end of October. Rossmann noted that the squad remains motivated to continue its tournament progression and expressed a preference for drawing a beatable opponent in the next stage.

Now you are hungry for more. You want to keep going along the path.