Hoffenheim thrashed by Berliner AK
Lower-league Berliner AK humiliated Bundesliga club Hoffenheim 4-0 Saturday in a major first-round upset in the German cup, which also saw promoted Greuther Fuerth crash out.
Metin Cakmak got a double, with Justin Gerlach and Kevin Kruschke also on target for the Berlin side in what reportedly was the biggest win of a fourth-division side against a top flight club in competition history.
"I am speechless ... You can lose in the cup, but not in such a way. We could have even let in more goals," Hoffenheim coach Markus Babbel said.
Fuerth went out 2-0 at third division Offenbach, but Bundesliga and cup champions Borussia Dortmund were untroubled in a 2-0 victory at fourth-division Bremen club Oberneuland from newly-hired Germany midfielder Marco Reus, Jakub Blasczykowski and Ivan Perisic.
All other Bundesliga clubs in action advanced: Borussia Moenchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart, SC Freiburg and Wolfsburg.
Hoffenheim were caught out cold in sweltering heat when Cakmak lobbed home from the edge of the area into the far right corner over Hoffenheim's newly hired former Germany goalkeeper Tim Wiese.
Gerlach doubled the lead in the counter in the 31st against a hapless Hoffenheim back line, and there was also no defender in sight after another defence-splitting pass set up Krusckhe for a 3-0 scoreline in the 41st.
Any Hoffenheim hopes of a turnaround ended three minutes after the restart when Cakmak was on target again, this time with a low short from the edge of the area after a terrible kick-off from Wiese.
Thomas Rathgeber converted a 28th-minute penalty and Lars Bender wrapped up matters in the dying seconds for Offenbach against Fuerth, who lost Abdul Baha and Edgar Prib sent off.
Coming off their first league and cup double in club history in the past season, Dortmund were not seriously tested by Oberneuland and ended any doubts about the outcome from Reus' 10th-minute opener.
Blasczykowski made it 2-0 in the 38th with a low shot and Perisic scored from a tight left angle in the 67th.
Moenchengladbach won 2-0 at third division Alemannia Aachen; Leverkusen 4-0 at fourth-division Jena; Freiburg 2-1 at fourth-division Victoria Hamburg; VfB Stuttgart 5-0 at sixth-division Falkensee; and Wolfsburg won 5-0 at lower-league Schoenberg.
Eight either clubs were scheduled to play on Sunday and record cup winners Bayern Munich at third division Regensburg on Monday. Augsburg reached the second round on Friday.
