Coach Roger Schmidt fielded the same side that started the final pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad. Calhanoglu and Julian Baumgartlinger were on the bench. In front of a 4,000 crowd, including 800 Bayer 04 fans, the game flowed one way from the kick-off and the Hauenstein players responded by taking a robust approach to challenges from the first minute. They certainly left their mark on Tin Jedvaj and Bellarabi. The first clear chance of the game came on 15 minutes: Benny Henrichs put in a cross for Admir Mehmedi to hit a shot on the turn towards the far corner of the Hauenstein net but the goalkeeper Kevin Urban was just able tip the ball away.
The fifth-tier opposition did a good job and stood up to the dominant Werkself. Leverkusen also lacked the necessary determination, tempo and accuracy going forward during this stage of the game. Bernd Leno was even called into action to keep out a tricky shot from Lukas Hartlieb on 25 minutes. At the other end, Chicharito missed a good chance in a promising position on 31 minutes. Bayer 04 found it tough going in the first 30 minutes despite their superiority and numerous corners. They were also out of luck when Aránguiz hit the bar from a free kick on 36 minutes.
Chicharito cool as ice
The long-awaited opener came just before the half-time break: Kevin Kampl put the ball though to Mehmedi who picked out Chicharito and he made no mistake from six yards out as he lobbed his shot over Urban into the net to make it 1-0 on 39 minutes. The two sides went in to the break with the Werkself maintaining a narrow but deserved lead.
Bayer 04 were very lucky after the restart with the defence looking disorganised. Jesper Brechtel put a shot just wide of the far post in a one-on-one with Leno on 49 minutes. Julian Baumgartlinger replaced Mehmedi on the hour mark, Kevin Kampl moved up to take the position of the Swiss striker. The lively Henrichs had a chance to make it 2-0 on 65 minutes but the Hauenstein keeper was able to make the save after a smart one-two with Aránguiz.
Bellarabi doubles lead
A corner from Aránguiz lead to the next goal: Chicharito squared the ball and Bellarabi had no problem scoring the second goal for the Werkself on 67 minutes. Substitute Calhanoglu hit the post from a free kick on 79 minutes. And suddenly the underdogs came back into the game: A header from Srzentic from a free kick was deflected by Baumgartlinger past the helpless Leno to make it 2-1 with nine minutes to play. It was a tight finish with Jedvaj clearing off the line on 89 minutes. The tie ended with a deserved if also less than impressive 2-1 win for the Werkself.
The opener in the DFB Cup is followed next weekend by the first Bundesliga outing of the new season for the Werkself – with the top match against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday 27 August at 18.30 CET.
Match stats:
SC Hauenstein: Urban – Srzentic, Hartlieb, Klück, Brechtel (Albrecht 66’), Bormeth, Schwehm, Abele, Kupper, Nishinaka (Schacker 72’), Ando (Haag 66’)
Bayer 04: Leno – Jedvaj, Tah, Toprak, Henrichs – Kampl, Aránguiz – Bellarabi (Calhanoglu 74’), Mehmedi (Baumgartlinger 59’) – Volland, Chicharito (Kruse 88’)
Goals: 0-1 Chicharito (39’), 0-2 Bellarabi (67’), 1-2 Srzentic (81’)
Referee: Badstübner (Windsbach)
Booked: Ando, Brechtel, Klück, Haag – Chicharito, Jedvaj
Attendance: 4,000
Rüdiger Vollborn has been at the club for 40 years, he holds the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club (401) and is the only Bayer 04 player to have won both the UEFA Cup (1988) and the DFB Pokal (1993). And the Berliner stayed with the Werkself after ending his impressive playing career as he worked as a goalkeeping coach for the following nine years. Vollborn now works under the Bayer Cross as a fan liaison officer and club archivist. Since February 2021, the personalised Black and Red lexicon takes Werkself fans under the heading of 'Rudi recounts...' on a brief trip through the history of Bayer 04 every month.
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