Eintracht showed both a good fight and great spirit in the DFB Cup game in the sold out 'Tivoli' stadium in Aachen. Early on the team was weakened by Pirmin Schwegler's sending off after only 14 minutes (for a last man foul on Gueye) which was a harsh decision. Ralph Faehrmann in goal stopped Hoeger's following penalty with an excellent save.
Ricardo Clark moved back to center defense where Schwegler had started the game again. With some focussed defending the Eagles kept the 0-0 throughout the game, and even had the better chances to score. Gekas volleyed a Jung cross but hit the post, and it was the Greek striker again heading the ball towards goal but Alemannia keeper Hohs saved. Ochs had another go with a long range shot - at this stage a goal would have been deserved.
After the break the game got hectic and less fluent, Aachen dominated due to Eintracht being one man down, but no major scoring opportunities happened. Eintracht had a chance from another Ochs shot after a fast build up via Gekas and Koehler, but the attempt went wide.
Consequently the game went into extra time in which Aachen managed to score after three minutes (Hoeger from a blocked Auer shot). In this tough situation the Egales - having played with ten men for most of the game - even came back when Fenin scored from a Meier pass in minute 99. The game remained open until the very last minute but then it was over - penalties!
Alemannia started the shootout and went on to convert all their tries. Fenin scored the first one for the Eagles, then Meier stepped up and hit the ball over Hoh's goal. While Faehrmann came close to saving Stehle's penalty but had no luck, Caio and Amanatidis scored for the Eagles. Still, Aachen did not fail and Auer netted the deciding go. After a tense and thrilling cup night Alemannia advanced to the quarter finals where they will play Bayern Munich. The Eagles showed a spirited performance with consistend defending but were unlucky in the end. They were applauded from the strong Eintracht support for a great first half of the season. A well deserved break is waiting for them.
