DFB Pokal: Hoffenheim beat Borussia Monchengladbach
Hoffenheim qualified for the next round of the German DFB Pokal Cup at the expense of Monchengladbach after an easy 2-0 win against the struggling Bundesliga side.
Gylfi Sigurdsson scored the opening goal for Hoffenheim in the first half and the game was put to bed after a 2nd half strike by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Demba-Ba-c10812.
Hoffenheim started the game very brightly and dominated the show but couldn’t really find any great opportunities to open the scoring to test Monchengladbach keeper, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Christofer-Heimeroth-c9149.
The first chance of the match went to the home side around the 26th minute when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sebastian-Rudy-c32767 took a bold run on the right flank and chipped in a delightful cross for Ba but he agonizingly missed the ball by inches.
After soaking up the initial pressure, Gladbach recovered and finally started to pick themselves up. In the first half, Juan Arangos’ pass was almost connected by a sliding attempt at goal from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Igor-de-Camargo-c16693.
In the 25th minute, Hoffenheim finally got the deserving lead when Gylfi Sigurdsson’s excellently played free-kick found the net as the hosts took the initiative. The goal acted as a catalyst for the home side as they went pretty close in doubling
their lead on 2 instants during the dying moments of the first half when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sejad-Salihovic-c32849 came close to scoring.
The start of the 2nd half was no different as the home side dominated the middle of the park as they looked to add another goal to guarantee victory. Gladbach again struggled to find their feet and were chasing the home side without any sense
of purpose and direction. Salihovic thought he had scored the second goal in the 52nd minute but saw his effort ruled out for offside by the linesman as Ba was in an offside position.
But 11 minutes later, the hosts did find the 2nd goal when the set-piece expert, Salihovic crossed http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Senegal-c3001 international, Ba who easily nodded a header in the goal from just 6 yards.
It seemed that Monchengladbach had not given up as Rudy was tackled superbly by Callsen-Bracker as he almost scored a goal that would have been the third for the home team. This tackle proved to be the last credible action of the match as it finished 2-0
to Hoffenheim.
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