Hertha BSC beats 1. FC Saarbrücken on penalties in DFB-Pokal first round

Early pressure and dominant opening

Hertha BSC arrived at the Ludwigsparkstadion having opened their 2. Bundesliga season with two consecutive victories under coach Stefan Leitl. The visitors established control from the opening whistle and pushed the third-division hosts deep inside their defensive territory. Deyovaisio Zeefuik created the initial scoring threat in the 4th minute after advancing down the left flank, forcing Saarbrücken goalkeeper Kevin Broll to turn an acute-angle strike out for a corner. Zeefuik remained active in attack and struck the crossbar in the 16th minute, while Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson failed to convert the subsequent rebound. Forward Sebastian Grönning placed another effort narrowly wide of the net in the 25th minute as Hertha dominated possession without finding finishing precision. Saarbrücken produced their primary first-half threat in the 42nd minute when Abdenego Nankishi found space to shoot, but Hertha goalkeeper Marius Gersbeck positioned himself cleanly to make the save and keep the score 0:0 at the break.

Long-range breakthrough and missed chances

The second half developed into sustained attacking pressure from Hertha against a pinned Saarbrücken backline. Kevin Sessa tested Kevin Broll with consecutive long-range strikes in the 51st and 55th minutes, followed by another close miss from Jon Thorsteinsson. The opening goal arrived in the 69th minute when Paul Seguin struck a 25-meter shot into the upper-left corner of the net. Seguin stood motionless in place following the strike until his teammates rushed in to celebrate the 1:0 advantage. Hertha had multiple chances to extend the lead during the subsequent ten minutes. Substitute Seun Adewumi saw an effort saved in the 77th minute, and Sessa missed another clear opportunity to score in the 80th minute.

Late equalizer and penalty shootout

The missed chances proved costly for Hertha in front of 15,500 spectators in the sold-out stadium. Saarbrücken manager Argirios Giannikis brought on striker Kai Brünker in search of attacking momentum. The home team found their equalizer late in normal time when Fahrner delivered a strike past Gersbeck, who had his field of vision blocked by players in front of the goal. Neither side could break the 1:1 deadlock during the remainder of regulation time or the ensuing thirty minutes of extra time. The match moved to a penalty shootout, where Gersbeck parried spot-kicks from Florian Pick and Kai Brünker to seal a 4:2 shootout victory for Hertha.

Away record and tournament background

Prior to the fixture, Hertha head coach Stefan Leitl had cautioned his squad about the difficulty of facing the third-tier hosts.

Saarbrücken is a brutally difficult task, we are playing against what feels like a second-division club.

Saarbrücken built a tournament pedigree after becoming the first fourth-division team to reach the DFB-Pokal semi-finals in 2020. The Saarländer repeated a run to the semi-finals in 2024 after eliminating FC Bayern Munich in the second round. Saturday's outcome delivered Hertha BSC their first competitive victory in Saarbrücken in club history. Across nine previous league visits in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, the Berlin club had recorded three draws and six defeats.