SV Darmstadt were looking to cause an early cup upset at the expense of Wolfsburg as the two sides met on Sunday evening. Darmstadt, currently seventh in the Bundesliga, saw this as a great chance to test themselves against one of the Bundesliga's big guns. On the other hand, VfL Wolfsburg were looking to ensure an expected win in the Bollenfalltor Stadion. The DFB Pokal has seen Wolfsburg become a regular in the semi-finals in the last two years, although they could not afford to become complacent and expect to breeze through. Given the injury troubles The Wolves had faced through pre-season with Ivan Perisic and all three right backs; Patrick Ochs, Christian Trasch and new signing Seb Jung - Wolfsburg needed to be focused from the off. With an injury crisis on the right of their defence, Hecking opted for the ever-grafting Vierinha to fill the void. In the absence of captain Diego Benaglio, Naldo skippered his side for the evening. There was also a debut to on-loan Atletico man, Joshua Guilavogui.
The opening stages of the match saw Wolfsburg apply some early pressure to Darmstadt from the kick-off. Both Malanda and Guilavogui looked to surge forward and push their team on as Darmstadt were on the back foot. As per last season, Rodriguez was primarily the source of creation from out wide, as he looked to deliver into a crowded Darmstadt penalty box. The best cross within the first ten minutes found Kevin De Bruyne, who fizzed his effort just wide of the post. Wolfsburg fielded a strong line-up but Darmstadt were resilient within the opening ten-to-fifteen minutes of the game, holding their own and keeping Wolfsburg at bay.
The game continued in similar fashion. Wolfsburg kept pressing but Darmstadt were dealing with them comfortably. A foul from Darmstadt's central midfielder Gondorf* on Malanda only adding to Wolfsburg frustrations. De Bruyne's cross a few moments later, intended for Olic, fell comfortably into the hands of Mathenia. For their dominance in possesion, Wolfsburg had yet to create a clear-cut chance, proving they were going to have to be patient against a water-tight Darmstadt side looking to put a lot of bodies behind the ball and into the box.
The chance came soon enough through Kevin De Bruyne once more, with his movement causing Darmstadt a few problems. A curling effort from the edge of the box clipped the top of the bar and went out of play. In the twenty-second minute, this was the closest the Wolves had come to finding the back of the net. Darmstadt gradually grew into the game as the game became more balanced. They managed a few chances, mostly through Stroh-Engel, although it was nothing that Grün couldn't manage. The few minutes before half-time provided little else to talk about. Guilavogui's effort from the edge of the box proved no threat to Mathenia's goal. Half-time came with the match scoreless. Wolfsburg had their chances to break the deadlock but it was Darmstadt that went into the interval the happier side.
The second half got underway with Wolfsburg again earning a flurry of chances. The best chance came from De Bruyne's cross from the right-hand side, which Olic could only toe poke into the goalkeeper's grasp. De Bruyne was by far the most lively of Wolfsburg's attacking players in their search for a goal. Ivica Olic was again providing the non-stop running whilst Maxi Arnold was fading in and out the game. Wolfsburg were still failing to create anything clear cut, and as the game grew older it encouraged Darmstadt to push higher up the field. Wolfsburg were managing to counter-attack, but to little effective as of the sixtieth minute. The majority of the second half saw Darmstadt get the better of Wolfsburg, fighting their way up the pitch and taking the game to Wolfsburg. Whilst they managed to do so, the win taht everyone predicted Wolfsburg to earn comfortably certainly wasn't going to plan.
Daniel Caligiuri was Wolfsburg's first substitute to change their fortunes for the match, who replaced Junior Malanda. Hecking was clearly looking to get the game won in ninety minutes with an attack-minded change. Maxi Arnold was allocated a deeper role alongside Guilavogui for the remaining fifteen minutes. The introduction of Caligiuri provided more intent in Wolfsburg's attack, which caused Stroh-Engel to receive a yellow card for pulling the German down in full stride. The former later blazed the costless-kick over the bar. Aaron Berzel replaced Sandro Sirigu for Darmstadt in their response for some fresh legs.
Wolfsburg still maintained a high-pressuring game as they looked for a late winner. A scramble in the Darmstadt penalty area saw Guilavogui scuff his attempted shot which allowed Darmstadt to clear and break themselves, coming to little. The game finished goalless with both sides preparing for another thirty minutes; which neither side would have wanted. Despite the pride of taking a Bundesliga side to extra-time, the physical strain it will have on the players is not ideal for the club as they are two games into the 2.Bundesliga campaign. Wolfsburg, meanwhile, would have wanted the game wrapped up within the ninety. With the majority of the first team on show, the match did not go how they wanted with less than a week until they face Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga curtain raiser.
Aaron Hunt would play no further part in the match. With next week's clash with Bayern in Hecking's mind, he opted to replace the new recruit for the Dutch forward, Bas Dost. Extra-time provided very few chances for either side to gain the advantage and remained a cagey affair, meaning the game would be decided on penalties.
Up first was stand-in captain, Naldo. His tame effort was saved easily by Mathenia. Naldo's known for striking a ball with conviction but his effort had anything but. Darmstadt took the lead through captain Bregerie, and it was deserved for their valiant efforts. Bas Dost buried his effort and gave Wolfsburg hope, smashing it into the far corner. Hanno Behrens extended Darmstadt's advantage as he converted. Ricardo Rodriguez made no mistake and tucked his penalty away, making it 2-2. On-loan Hertha man Fabian Holland continued Darmstadt's advantage, right before Kevin De Bruyne scored the all important strike to keep Wolfsburg's hopes alive. Max Grün made a vital save for Wolfsburg as he saved Exlager's penalty before Olic converted his, giving the advantage back to Wolfsburg. Stroh-Engel soon finished his before Vierinha found the back of the net with his effort - taking the shoutout to the wire. The all decisive save and miss involved Max Grün and Ivana, as the Darmstadt man missed and Wolfsburg clinched qualification by the skin of their teeth.
Overall, Wolfsburg were pushed to their limits and nearly paid the price for some poor finishing. As for Darmstadt, they will be gutted they couldn't take anything else from this fixture. They were extremely unlucky not to win against an out-of-sorts Wolfsburg team, who have not provided their manager or fans with many encouraging signs heading into the Bundesliga campaign, starting with Bayern Munich.