1. FSV Mainz 05 hosted 1860 Munich on Tuesday night in a second-round tie in the DFB-Pokal.
Mainz had been in indifferent league form heading into the fixtures, having won four and lost six of their first 10 league matches, leaving them looking down rather than up.
For 1860 Munich, the start to the season had been ominous. No wins through 12 games, including six draws and six defeats and just seven goals, with things looking very bleak for the Lions.
Promising start for the hosts
The home side made the perfect start to what should have been a routine task as Florian Niederlechner got his head to a perfect cross, the ball deflecting off Schindler before creeping in the far corner to make it 1-0 to the 05ers.
Nico Bungert should have made it 2-0 in the 13th minute when another wonderful cross, this time from the right side, was whipped in. His header from five yards was straight at 1860 'keeper Moreno.
It wasn't a full Coface Arena by any stretch, but the home fans were doing their bit to make the game very difficult for the travelling 1860 team, and following the good early start from Mainz they were helped in the cause.
Niederlechner went into the book in the 25th minute for a nasty chop in mid air, marking the first caution issued by referee Osmers. Yegenoglu was the man on the receiving end; the defender slow to get up.
Mainz continue to look strong
Danny Latza headed narrowly wide just before the half hour mark after a wonderful cross from the left side.
Martin Schmidt was forced into an early change as Cristoph Moritz was brought on in place of Daniel Brosinski, who clear limped his way off the field with a calf injury.
There was a huge moment of controversy with just seconds remaining in the first half as referee Osmers sent off Pierre Bengtsson for a last man tackle on Stefan Mugosa.
The decision seemed harsh as Bell looked to be coming around to cover; though the foul did occur with Mugosa steaming away. Lindl fired the resulting free kick well wide.
At half time the score was 1-0 in favour of the home team, and the officials walked off to a chorus of boos and jeers from the home fans after what was in their eyes a poor decision.
Mainz had looked comfortable throughout to that point, so the incident will have frustrated Martin Schmidt, while Möhlmann will have been galvanising his troops for a second half assault.
1860 begin to get back into the game
1860 Munich made a bright start to the second half, moving the ball well with the extra man through midfielders Adlung and Liendl, but failing to create any opportunities. Despite this, the travelling fans were in find voice away in the left corner.
Daylon Claasen produced some neat work cutting in from the left in the 51st minute, however his lob through to Mugosa was a tad too late as the forward was offside.
South African Claasen had a chance to poke in at the far post a few minutes later following a recycled cross, but Balogun did well to prevent the danger as the Lions smelt blood.
After a lull in the play it was Niederlechner who found space in the 66th minute outside the box, but his shot was straight at Moreno.
The Lions shock their Bundesliga hosts
The visitors managed to get themselves back into the tie in a big way thanks to Stefan Mugosa's 70th minute strike. The Montonegrin shrugged off Bungert before calmly finishing past Karius into the bottom left corner.
In dramatic fashion 1860 Munich completed the turnaround in the 77th minute as substitute Rubin Okotie got his first goal of the season, directing a header back across goal and beating a motionless Karius.
Mainz had a penalty appeal in the 80th minute Neudecker looked to have controlled the ball up onto his arm, but the referee waved away the claims.
The home side pushed and pushed for a late equaliser, with countless threatening set pieces, though they couldn't make the breakthrough being a man down.
A more dramatic final couple of minutes we could not have wished for. Firstly Yegenoglu produced a great reaction stop on the line to deny an effort from the hosts, and moments later Baumgartlinger had an effort headed off the line in desperate scenes.
The full time whistle blew, and as jeers rang out around the Coface Arena it became apparent that 1860 had overcome the odds and earned a deserved victory.
Obviously the major turning point was the red card, yet this was still a tough one for Schmidt and his Mainz side to take.