Augsburg Secures 4-2 DFB-Pokal Victory Over Resilient Großaspach

FC Augsburg advanced to the Round of 16 in the DFB-Pokal after claiming a hard-fought 4-2 victory over SG Sonnenhof Großaspach on Tuesday. Playing before 7,438 spectators in Aspach, the Bundesliga club raced to an early two-goal advantage, weathered an impressive fightback from the underdog hosts, and ultimately relied on clinical contributions from their substitutes to secure passage to the next stage.

Augsburg head coach Manuel Baum implemented five changes from the squad that drew 1-1 against Union Berlin, handing starting roles to Youngwoo Seol, Rodrigo Ribeiro, Mert Kömür, Yannik Keitel, and Robin Fellhauer. The rotations yielded fast results through Ribeiro, who entered the contest having recently netted against Bayern Munich. In the 13th minute, the young Portuguese attacker opened the scoring by finishing off a header from Fellhauer. Just eight minutes later, Ribeiro struck again on a swift counterattack sparked by a pass from Hennes Behrens, giving Augsburg a 2-0 cushion.

Großaspach, a self-styled "village club," refused to concede momentum. Moments before Augsburg's second goal, Großaspach's Marius Kunde had already warned the visitors by hitting the inside of the post. Seconds after that miss, the hosts struck back in the 22nd minute when Luca Molinari beat goalkeeper Finn Dahmen with a firm left-footed shot. Although the play underwent a prolonged video assistant referee review for potential offside, the goal was upheld, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

The match sustained an intense rhythm through the remainder of the first half, watched from the stands by German music artist and Großaspach supporter Andrea Berg. Immediately after the interval, Großaspach capitalized on their momentum. In the 46th minute, team captain Volkan Celiktas met a cross from Molinari at the far post, heading the ball into the net to equalize at 2-2. The play evoked Großaspach's first-round performance, where they also tied Arminia Bielefeld early in the second half before advancing on penalties.

With the match deadlocked, Baum turned to his bench, introducing Arijon Ibrahimović and Anton Kade to inject energy into the attack. The tactical adjustments paid off quickly. In the 69th minute, Ibrahimović collected possession and curled a shot from roughly 25 meters directly into the upper right corner of the net. Five minutes later, Behrens notched another assist by finding Kade, who positioned a left-footed strike into the bottom corner to restore Augsburg's two-goal cushion at 4-2.

Großaspach goalkeeper Maximilian Reule, the hero of the club's penalty shootout against Bielefeld, kept the scoreline manageable by blocking a potential fifth goal from Fellhauer in the closing minutes. Referee Patrick Schwengers eventually blew the final whistle, sealing the competitive 4-2 triumph for the visiting Bundesliga side.

The result ends a historic cup run for Großaspach, who had reached the second round of the DFB-Pokal for the first time in four attempts. Discrepancies exist across tournament and club records regarding Großaspach's league level, with official match accounts and German soccer federation reports listing the team in the 3. Liga following consecutive promotions, while club encyclopedia records place them in the fourth-tier Regionalliga Südwest. Augsburg now shifts attention to the Bundesliga, where they aim to halt a five-game winless stretch when hosting third-place SC Freiburg on Saturday ahead of Sunday's round of 16 cup draw.