The Wolves dominated territory and possession against their deep-lying hosts throughout, but it took until the 76th minute for Ginczek to score the winner, nodding home after excellent work by the sparky Josip Brekalo on the right flank. Although Elversberg were expectedly resilient and well organised, Wolfsburg's persistence and quality paid off and Bruno Labbadia's side will be in the hat for the second-round draw on Sunday 26 August. Those ties will take place on 30/31 October, but before that attention turns to the Bundesliga, which begins for the Wolves with the visit of FC Schalke 04 next Saturday (kick-off: 15:30 CEST).
Two Wolfsburg debutants
Labbadia handed competitive debuts to left-back Jérôme Roussillon and centre-forward Ginczek, but otherwise eight of the starters in Elversberg also began the final game of last season in Kiel, including new club captain Josuha Guilavogui. For his part, Elversberg coach Roland Seitz made five changes to the side that lost 1-0 to Stuttgart's reserves a week ago.
Wolfsburg start brightly
Fresh from beating Napoli in last weekend's final pre-season friendly, Wolfsburg began with a spring in their step and set up camp in the Elversberg half. With the hosts sitting deep, Roussillon's overlapping runs on the left were a feature, but despite the Wolves' control, the first chance of the game fell to Elversberg midfielder Sinan Tekerci, who shot into the side-netting. Undeterred, Labbadia's troops began turning their dominance into chances as the interval approached, although Brekalo, Maximilian Arnold and Ginczek all failed to hit the target when afforded space.
Ginczek breaks the deadlock
The Wolves continued in the same vein after the break, with half-time substitute Admir Mehmedi, Guilavogui and Robin Knoche all spurning gilt-edged opportunities. Elversberg came out of their shells as the half progressed, Koen Casteels producing an expert save before John Brooks cleared off the line in the 72nd minute. The hosts' adventurousness led to more space for the Wolves on the break, and eventually the visitors' class told; after some fine work on the counter from Brekalo, Ginczek was loitering at the back post to head in the Croatian's pinpoint right-wing cross. One goalmouth scramble aside, Wolfsburg safely navigated the closing stages to confirm their place in the second round of the DFB Cup.
SV Elversberg 07: Lehmann - Winter, Stang, Eglseder, Kohler – Dürholtz (Meha 81'), Dragon – Tekerci (Koffi 82'), Feil, Lahn - Perstaller
VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels - William, Knoche, Brooks, Roussillon - Guilavogui, Gerhardt (Malli 66'), Arnold – Steffen (Mehmedi 46'), Brekalo (Blaszczykowski 83') - Ginczek
Goal: Ginczek (76')
Yellow cards: Tekerci, Feil / Steffen, William
Attendance: 5,321
Referee: Lasse Koslowski (Berlin)
