It was a cup drama, but despite a very late equaliser in injury time and notwithstanding the very late goal to win the match, Borussia's progression was well-deserved. The opposition were unfortunate in equal measure, and BVB manager Lucien Favre paid them a great compliment for their performance.

"That wasn't a surprise for me. The match was very difficult for us", said the Swiss after the 2-1 win after extra time against Fürth. He then went on to praise his team, who had battled their way into the next round of the tournament in spite of still evident flaws: "We didn't control the match over 90 minutes, we didn't completely dominate it and we gave the ball away too often. That wasn't necessary and it was risky." Overall, the opposition "played fantastically" and became "very dangerous on the break" as the match progressed.

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So jubelten Matthias Sammer und Hans-Joachim Watzke.

Lucien Favre was realistic in his appraisal at the same time. The mechanisms will not be able to mesh perfectly after six weeks of pre-season, especially "when eight or nine players returned very late" after the World Cup. The coach emphasised: "It will take time. There are many details that need to be improved."

Borussia Dortmund produced far superior statistics across the 120 minutes – 129 with added time taken into account. Shots on goal read 30-11 in their favour, they had 70 percent possession and an excellent pass completion rate amounting to 87 percent.

"We had many chances on goal. Seven, eight", counted Favre, who didn't look unsatisfied. "It's important that we create chances on goal. We played well. We could have conceded a goal to go 2-1 down on one counterattacking move, but overall our opposition didn't have that many chances on goal."

As a result, Borussia Dortmund has advanced from the first round for the 13th consecutive year and will be in the pot when the draw for the second round is made on Sunday. Favre: "We're through. That's what counts. Only that."
Boris Rupert