VfL Women are heading to the DFB Cup final in Cologne for the 10th year in a row thanks to a blistering performance, with the She-Wolves beating SGS Essen 9-0 on Easter Saturday. After two disappointing defeats in the league, head coach Tommy Stroot’s side showed a clear reaction and got themselves into a good position in the first 20 minutes with a quickfire double from Jule Brand and Ewa Pajor. Vivien Endemann then made it 3-0 shortly before the break. In the second half, the She-Wolves remained far superior and sealed an emphatic victory through two more goals from Endemann, Dominique Janssen, Riola Xhemaili and Svenja Huth, as well as an unfortunate own goal from Essen’s Emely Lina Joester.
The final at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne takes place on Thursday 9 May at 16:00 CEST. VfL’s opponents will be decided on Sunday in the second semi-final between FC Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Reaction
Markus Högner: “It’s obviously a very crushing moment for us. We expected more of ourselves, we’ve been really excited in the last few weeks, particularly because of the performances we’d shown before. Defensive solidity has been a feature of ours in recent weeks – today it was obviously the complete opposite. The team looked bewildered to me after the quickfire double in the 14th and 16th minutes. However, you also have to say that Wolfsburg were really brilliant today and produced a top-class performance.”
Tommy Stroot: “We wanted to show a bit of ruthlessness today and we did that. Overall we generated great drive and were able to accelerate the game at regular intervals. We had great energy and created plenty of chances, which enabled us to win by such a high margin. We wanted to show all the opponents and everyone here in the stadium that we wanted to get to the final. I felt that desire from the first minute to the last. I’m also particularly pleased that we maintained the same level on the pitch at the end with all the substitutes. That’s an important step for us in our development.”
Line-ups and stats
VfL Wolfsburg: Frohms – Wilms, Hendrich (63‘ Küver), Janssen, Rabano (57‘ Wedemeyer) – Huth, Oberdorf (73‘ Demann), Hagel (57‘ Xhemaili) – Endemann, Pajor (46‘ Kalma), Brand
Subs: Schmitz (GK), Borbe (GK), Nemeth, Jonsdottir
SGS Essen: Winkler – Sterner, Meißner, Pucks (70‘ Kröll), Ostermeier (59‘ Joester) – Piljic, Rieke (71‘ Debitzki), Kowalski (59‘ Pfluger) – Purtscheller, Maier, Elmazi (59‘ Potsi)
Subs: Sindermann (GK), Lucassen (GK), Göppel, Debitzki, Enderle
Goals: 1-0 Brand (14‘), 2-0 Pajor (16‘), 3-0 Endemann (37‘), 4-0 Endemann (57‘), 5-0 Janssen (66‘), 6-0 Joester (70‘/own goal), 7-0 Endemann (82’), 8-0 Xhemaili (83’), 9-0 Huth (89’)
Yellow cards: Rabano /-
Referee: Naemi Breier (Zerf)
Attendance: 2,889 at AOK Stadion, Wolfsburg
