A duel with the series winner, a regional derby and a showdown with a Bundesliga team await the teams from the region in the second round of the Women’s DFB Cup.
Hertha BSC – VfL Wolfsburg (Friday, 6.30 p.m., Stadion am Wurfplatz):
The young Berlin girls have been dealt a real blow in their first participation in the competition, but also the toughest possible draw. The top European team from Wolfsburg has won the trophy ten times in a row.
“It will be an unforgettable experience for everyone,” said coach Manuel Meister about the match. It is without question the biggest game for Hertha’s young women’s division. The Berlin team started the Regionalliga Nordost with two wins. In their cup debut in the first round they beat ATS Buntentor 5-0.
Viktoria Berlin – Turbine Potsdam (Sunday, 3 p.m., Lichterfelde Stadium):
It is a meeting of tradition and modernity. Turbine is the only first division club in the region and, along with SGS Essen, one of two remaining women-only clubs. The former German champions, cup and Champions League winners managed to get promoted straight back last season.
But the economic environment remains difficult without a large men’s division. “We are the David and not the Goliath that sponsors flock to,” President Karsten Ritter-Lang recently told rbb. The Brandenburg women started the league with a narrow 0:2 defeat against champions Bayern Munich.
In June 2022, Viktoria’s women’s football team was spun off from the overall club. The ambitious project with prominent investors is aiming for the Bundesliga by 2027, but is currently still stuck in the Regionalliga. However, the team has already won its first two games there.
1. FC Union Berlin – RB Leipzig (Sunday, 4 p.m., Stadion An der Alten Försterei):
The duel between two clubs and fan groups that are always at loggerheads with the men also promises to be explosive for the women. The pay-TV broadcaster Sky chose the match for its live broadcast. The Alte Försterei is likely to be well-filled. In sporting terms, the Iron Ladies are underdogs against the first division team. However, Union is also a candidate for promotion as a newcomer to the second division. There were two draws in the first league games against HSV and 1. FC Nuremberg.
“We will do everything we can to make the second round against Leipzig as exciting as possible. We are aware that a Bundesliga team with these qualities is the favorite,” said Union’s women’s professional football manager, Jennifer Zietz, after the draw.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240905-930-223430/1
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