Scandal in German Cup
ByReuters
Published 25/10/2006 at 22:13 GMT
Stuttgarter Kickers' German Cup second round match with Hertha Berlin was abandoned in the 86th minute on Wednesday after a linesman was hit on the head by an object thrown from the crowd. Elsewhere, holders Bayern beat Kaiserslautern while both Bayer Lev
FOOTBALL 2006-2007 Bundesliga Hertha Berlin Stuttgart
Image credit: dpa
Hertha were leading 2-0 against their third-division opponents when linesman Kai Voss fell to the ground. He received treatment for several minutes before being led off to the dressing room.
Kickers coach Robin Dutt came out to appeal for calm but referee Michael Weiner decided to call a premature end to the match.
Hertha are almost certain to be awarded victory, and a place in the last 16, by the German Football Association.
"It was a clear decision as the projectile came from the Stuttgart part of the crowd," the referee was quoted as saying by the SID news agency.
Kickers coach Dutt was appalled at the incident. "It's a total catastrophe and an unbelievable setback for the club," he told reporters.
Hertha coach Falko Goetz called the incident "deplorable".
"You have to bear in mind that players could have been hit as well," he said.
Kickers had reached the second round thanks to a fantastic victory over Hamburg SV.
Hertha were heading for victory after goals by Solomon and Yildiray Basturk.
Both teams had a man sent off.
Elsewhere, holders Bayern Munich beat Kaiserslautern 1-0 to sneak into the third round but there was no such luck for Leverkusen and Moenchengladbach on a night of scandal and surprises.
Bayern midfielder Andreas Ottl headed the only goal in the 49th minute of a dreadful match in front of 50,000 people at the Allianz Arena.
Moenchengladbach lost 2-1 at amateur club VfL Osnabrueck after Congolese striker Addy-Waku Menga got both goals for the home side, who play in the regional third division.
Leverkusen, who at the weekend became the first team this season to be beaten by Hamburg SV, lost 3-2 at MSV Duisburg after extra time.
Duisburg, relegated from the Bundesliga last season, were the better team throughout and clinched victory when Mohamadou Idrissou set up substitute Klemen Lavric for the winner in the 113th minute.
Bundesliga co-leaders Schalke 04 went out after losing 4-2 in extra time against second division Cologne in the other big second round upset on Tuesday.
Bayern never looked like joining them but even so there was very little for the huge crowd to get excited about.
Felix Magath's side had plenty of possession but seemed at a loss over what to do with it.
Several times they made progress through the centre only for forwards Roy Makaay and Lukas Podolski to freeze when shooting looked the best bet.
Podolski missed the clearest chance of the first half when he planted a free header five metres wide after a great cross from the right by Makaay.
The goal finally came early in the second half when Makaay fired in a corner, Martin Demichelis nodded it on and Ottl slipped his marker to head home.
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