VfL Wolfsburg won their first competitive match of the 2022/23 season, beating Carl Zeiss Jena 1-0 in the first round of the DFB Cup on Saturday evening. Omar Marmoush netted the winning goal for Niko Kovac’s side in the 92nd minute in front of a crowd of 6,100 at the sold-out Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld.
The second round will be played over 18 and 19 October.
The Wolves are next in action this Saturday, 6 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST), as they welcome Werder Bremen to the Volkswagen Arena on the opening matchday of the new Bundesliga season.
Coach’s reaction
Niko Kovac: “First of all I want to congratulate the opposition on a great game. Jena did very well over the 90 minutes and really gave everything. But we got through, and on the basis of chances then I think it’s deserved too. Obviously, when you score in stoppage time there’s an element of luck, but every first-round cup tie is difficult. You never know exactly where you’re at. If you look at the other games, we can see that a few others are already out. We’re still in it, though, and that’s all that matters.”
Goals
0-1 Marmoush (90’+2): Nerves of steel: from a free-kick from the left, in one of the last actions of the game, Marmoush hurls himself in the air and steers a header into the far corner, much to the dismay of the home side. Late in the day, but fully deserved!
Line-ups and stats
FC Carl Zeiss Jena: Kunz – Halili, Strietzel (77‘ Hehne), Hoppe, Lange – Schau (85‘ Petermann), Lämmel, Muiomo, Krauß – Dahlke (85‘ Grimm), Verkamp (68‘ Itoi)
Subs: A. Dedidis (GK), Krämer, Erkan, Ohurtsov, V. Dedidis
VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Baku, Lacroix (65’ Guilavogui), Bornauw, van de Ven – Waldschmidt (46‘ Brekalo), Wimmer, Svanberg (78‘ Franjic), Marmoush – L. Nmecha, Wind (65‘ Kaminski)
Subs: Klinger (GK), Pervan (GK), Fischer, Franjic, Paredes, Bialek
Goals: 0-1 Marmoush (90‘+2)
Yellow cards: Dahlke, Lange, Itoi, Muiomo / Baku, Marmoush
Referee: Florian Heft (Neuenkirchen)
Attendance: 6,100 at Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld (sold out)
