In the blazing August sun, FC Viktoria Berlin kicked off the first round of this year’s DFB-Pokal at Stadion Lichterfelde. The opponents this Sunday: TSV Barmke, who brought along a large number of fans from Lower Saxony.
For the season opener, there were several new faces on and off the pitch for the Himmelblauen (Sky Blues): Anna Höfker, Stefanie Klug, and Natalie Stulin were all included in the squad for their first competitive match. On the bench, new head coach Dennis Galleski made his debut.
Good vibes, good start
Around 600 fans made their way to the stadium, eager for an hour and a half of exciting football—and they were not disappointed. Just five minutes in, Danya Barsalona finished off the first attack with a header into the bottom right corner after a cross from the left. And Viktoria was hungry for more.
The guests from Barmke were almost overrun by the offensive power of the Himmelblauen. After Nina Ehegötz (6th minute) narrowly missed the goal, captain Marlies Sänger extended the lead in the 12th minute with another header after a strong cross. It was clear early on what the Sky Blues had in mind for this sunny season opener.
Consolation goal, an amazing save, and a dream left-side
The visitors managed to lighten the mood slightly with a consolation goal in the 17th minute. Martina Müller ruthlessly capitalised on a misunderstanding in Viktoria’s defence, chipping the ball from around 20 meters over goalkeeper Inga Buchholz, who got a fingertip to it. After a short water break, Buchholz once again found herself in the spotlight. In a one-on-one with Rebecca Spelly, she reacted brilliantly to prevent an equaliser for the visitors (32nd minute).
Viktoria, however, stayed calm. Shortly before the break, striker Kim Urbanek netted her first goal of the season (38th minute). The Berliners once again attacked successfully down the strong left side, and Urbanek finished with a powerful shot into the far corner. Just two minutes later, after combining with Aylin Yaren, she had another go, but this time Barmke’s goalkeeper, Jana Tauer, cleared for a corner. Selina Grosch was unlucky just before half-time, hitting the crossbar (42nd minute). By this point, Viktoria could have easily had a larger lead.
The crossbar strikes again
After the halftime break, the match slowed down considerably in the warm weather. Viktoria kept pushing, clearly not satisfied with just three goals. After Grosch hit the bar in the first half, Louise Trapp followed up with a stunning long-range effort that also struck the crossbar (47th minute). Nina Ehegötz then hit the post with a header (50th minute).
The team in blue clearly didn’t want to just hold on to their lead—they kept pushing forward. But Barsalona (66th minute), Yaren (75th minute), and others were unlucky in the second half. The visitors from Barmke, on the other hand, only posed a threat from set pieces, like in the 63rd minute when a free kick almost resulted in another consolation goal. Near the end of the match, the Lower Saxony side had one final chance, but the shot flew wide of Buchholz’s goal (85th minute).
Viktoria secured their first win of the season, a victory that could have easily been more convincing. With this result, the team advances to the second round of the DFB-Pokal. Next week, on August 19th, 2023, at 2 p.m., the Sky Blue girls will face the reserve team of Turbine Potsdam—recently relegated from the second division—in their Regionalliga Nordost opener at Lichterfelde.
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