Freiburg beat 2nd-tier Sandhausen to reach DFB-Pokal quarters
Berlin, Feb 7, 2023 (AFP) - Austrian defender Philipp Lienhart scored an 87th-minute header to help Freiburg earn a 2-0 win at Sandhausen on Tuesday to book a place in the German Cup quarter-finals.
Last season's losing finalists Freiburg, currently sixth in the Bundesliga, outplayed their second-division opponents but the game looked set to go into extra time before Lienhart glanced the ball into the net from a Vincenzo Grifo corner.
Striker Nils Petersen, brought off the bench with less than 10 minutes to play, added a second in the fifth minute of injury time to put the game beyond doubt.
Freiburg dominated the first half, with midfielder Grifo creating a number of half chances for striker Michael Gregoritsch and centre-back Lukas Kuebler.
Kuebler went closest in the dying stages of the first half, latching onto a Grifo free-kick but heading the ball centimetres wide of the post.
Gregoritsch had another chance in the 62nd minute, rising unmarked to reach a cross from Roland Sallai but putting the ball just wide.
Sandhausen have now lost four of their past five games and currently sit in 15th in the second division, one point off last spot.
They sat deep and looked content to push the match into extra time, having defeated neighbouring Karlsruhe 8-7 on penalties in the previous round.
In Tuesday's late game, five-time winners Eintracht Frankfurt host local rivals Darmstadt.