The decisive tip came from a former Veilchen. Luc Elsner, who trained at FC Erzgebirge Aue for ten years and moved to 1. FC Lok Leipzig twelve months ago, showed his goalkeeper Niclas Müller where Tim Hoffmann would shoot during the penalty shoot-out. "I see him show me the corner and I went in there full of conviction. Thank God it worked out," said Müller after the 6:5 victory in the thriller from the spot.
His save earned Leipzig success in the Saxon Cup, which comes with a place in the first round of the DFB Cup and around 160,000 euros in prize money. The losing third-division side from the Erzgebirge will receive around €60,000 from the DFB pot in accordance with Saxon regulations.
Leipzig with tailwind in the promotion battle
Lok gained additional confidence for the upcoming promotion matches to the 3rd division against TSV Havelse with the win, even if the extra time and the thrill afterwards were anything but conducive to this. "Now we just have to recover and then we'll thunder out everything that's left in the reserve tank on Wednesday. You can't have a broader chest now to go into the relegation," said Djamal Ziane.
The 12,1154 spectators in the venerable Bruno Plache Stadium did not see a footballing treat in the goalless 120 minutes. The game was intense, but without any major highlights. Chances on both sides were counted on one hand. It was particularly noticeable for the Auern that, as in the entire final phase of the season, they were practically without an attacker. When balls were put on Leipzig's goal, it was almost always from long-range shots.
Auern fans losing patience
Which wore out the fans' patience. After the end of the game, they wanted nothing more to do with the team. When the players tried to thank the fans in the stands, they were sent off with shouts of "Fuck off". Hoffmann, who missed the ball, was subjected to special insults.
This in turn upset the team. "It's understandable that the fans are incredibly angry after this season. I can understand every single one of them. Nevertheless, Tim Hoffmann is a 19-year-old who misses his penalty in front of 12,000 spectators. That can always happen. I don't understand insulting him like that," Erik Majetschak told the "Freie Presse" newspaper.
"An unharmonious ending like that always hurts. That's clear. I can understand the fans, of course: They are unhappy and have other ideas - we do too. But the situation is what it is. But I didn't understand why the fans sent us off. The team didn't deserve that," said coach Jens Härtel.
First cup win for Lok coach Seitz
The victorious regional league team, on the other hand, were in pure joy. "I still can't believe it," said Lok coach Jochen Seitz, who was able to celebrate winning the cup for the first time in his career. He had watched the penalty shoot-out "quite comfortably". "Of course I was also excited inside. But we told the team beforehand: 'Go for the penalty with conviction, it's all in your head, and just shoot the things in. It can be that simple," reported Seitz.
With the success in the bag, it is now easier to prepare the team for the relegation. Because the cup is just a nice bonus. The season will only be crowned when the team is promoted to the third division. But at least Lok already know how to win finals.
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