No second cup miracle: Hertha grind out 2-0 win at village club Jeddeloh II
Second-division leaders Hertha Berlin reached the German Cup last 16. Brekalo and Eitschberger scored after the break against the fourth-tier side that had knocked out Heidenheim in round one.
Archive image · Photo: Sir James / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized)
Hertha Berlin reached the last 16 of the German Cup on Wednesday but needed a long time to break down fourth-tier SSV Jeddeloh II, winning 2-0 in Oldenburg in front of 10,000 spectators. Josip Brekalo scored in the 57th minute from Farid Alfa-Ruprecht's pass and Julian Eitschberger added the second six minutes later.
The Regionalliga Nord side had beaten Bundesliga-relegated Heidenheim 5-2 in the first round. Jeddeloh II also had the first good chances against Hertha, with Kamer Krasniqi missing the best of them in the 17th minute. Stefan Leitl's Berlin side dominated possession but hit the post twice before halftime through Mads Petersen and Alfa-Ruprecht.
The defeat ends a historic cup run for the village club of around 1,300 residents, which according to dpa has already earned it about 685,000 euros in prize money. Jeddeloh II are coached by Burak Bahar, who led Hertha's under-17 team from 2022 to 2024. The last-16 ties will be played on Dec. 1 and 2.