DFB-Pokal Review: Controversy extends to pitch as Osnabruck v Leipzig abandoned

Osnabruck’s first-round DFB-Pokal clash at home to RB Leipzig had to be suspended on Monday after an official was hit by a missile thrown from the crowd.

A Deutscher Fussball-Bund (DFB) statement claimed: “Referee Martin Petersen was hit by a firework in the 71st minute that was fired from the home crowd”.

Third-tier Osnabruck held a 1-0 lead at the time of the abandonment through a first-minute goal from Halil Savran.

It was the second unsavoury incident to surround the Pokal in as many days after Hertha Berlin’s team bus was shot at on Sunday.

The incident resulted in no injuries, with none of Hertha’s players aboard at the time of the attack.

Hertha subsequently put the incident behind them to beat last season’s semi-finalists from the 3.Liga Arminia Bielefeld 2-0 on Monday courtesy of goals from Salomon Kalou and Vladimir Darida.

Fellow Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach avoided a surprise as they came from behind to see off St Pauli 4-1 in Hamburg.

Marc Rzatkowski’s sweetly struck shot gave the 2. Bundesliga side a half-time lead, but Lucien Favre’s men turned up the heat after the interval.

Lars Stindl got the equaliser – his first Gladbach goal – after being set up by the lively Ibrahima Traore, who then got on the end of a Stindl lay-off to curl home a superb second for the visitors.

Another for Stindl and Thorgan Hazard’s late fourth wrapped up Gladbach’ place in the second round, where they will be joined by Nuremberg – penalty-shootout winners against Aalen.