Focused going into clash with Regionalliga club

The first round of the DFB-Pokal has rarely been easy-going for TSG fans in recent years. The past few campaigns have been filled with drama, but from TSG's point of view, the match against SV Rödinghausen promises to be slightly more boring. Boredom, however, has so far been a foreign word for their opponents in this competition.

In their first DFB-Pokal participation, the Regionalliga team eliminated Dynamo Dresden, in Bundesliga 2 at the time, in a thrilling match that went to extra-time. As a reward, they were drawn against Bayern Munich in the second round, and the underdogs managed to give the Bundesliga giants a run for their money. After 13 minutes, it looked like plain sailing for Bayern, as they surged to a 2-0 lead. Then, in the 23rd minute, Bayern missed a chance to pull further in front when Renato Sanches failed to beat the Rödinghausen goalkeeper from the penalty spot. Shortly after the break, the East Westphalians reduced the deficit to 2-1, but they try as they might, they couldn't find an equaliser in what remained of the second half.

In their second cup appearance one season later, they were eliminated in round one, but top-tier SC Paderborn were also made to sweat. The team led by current Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart only went through in a penalty shoot-out after a 3-3 draw.

Strong start to the season

SV Rödinghausen were given a self-confidence booster last weekend, as they started the season with a 5-0 win against the 1. FC Köln U23s, although SVR had a one-man advantage from the 45th minute onwards.

TSG have been warned, but they will nonetheless travel to East Westphalia as favourites. TSG head coach André Breitenreiter's clubs have reached the 2nd round of the DFB-Pokal in five of the last six seasons, only his SC Paderborn side were eliminated in 2014/15 against RB Leipzig, who were promoted to the second tier that season.

The match will start at an unusual time: kick-off is scheduled for 15:31 CET. The reason for this is serious: in the first minute, loudspeaker announcements will give information on climate protection. The DFB has chosen the First Round of the DFB-Pokal as a "Climate Protection Action Day". In addition, all participating clubs will donate about 100 euros per goal scored to the "Sports for future" alliance, and the sum collected will be doubled by the DFB at the end of the round

Match facts and statistics »