Football | DFB Cup: Difficult task for Energie Cottbus

FC Energie Cottbus has had a successful start to the season . Four points from the first two matches with a team that's once again playing respectable football – President Sebastian Lemke should be pleased. After all, he only set relegation as his goal before the season. "We want to establish our club in professional football for the long term and position it for the future," he told Kicker.

Many fans also see FC Energie as one of the favorites for promotion to the 3. Liga , after all, Cottbus finished the previous season in 4th place. Lemke nevertheless called these expectations "absurd." The truth is, Cottbus had a very poor second half of the season and had to let go of two key regulars, Maximilian Kraus and Nico Bretschneider, in the summer. The team was supplemented primarily by players from the regional leagues or those who were no longer playing a role for their clubs. Things are now looking better for three of them in Cottbus: central defender Nyamekye Awortwie-Grant came from Stuttgarter Kickers, Leon Butler from SV Sandhausen, and Leon Guware from a season with just four appearances at FC Ingolstadt. At FC Energie, they had always been in the starting eleven.

Good start to the season

The first performances likely fueled the hopes of the fans in Lusatia. Although the opening match against 1. FC Saarbrücken ended in a draw, Cottbus was clearly the better team against last season's third-place team. Butler and Guwara, in particular, made a good impression , each providing an assist. Key player Tolgay Cigerci was even better: "We could have scored six goals today," said the double goalscorer after the match. In the end, it was just three. Energie conceded the equalizer shortly before the final whistle.

Coach Claus-Dieter Wollitz later accused his players of a lack of "class," citing this as the reason why the 3-1 lead was squandered: "Our team consists of failures and players from lower leagues," the 60-year-old explained. Nevertheless, he also said his team played "good football." The problem? "We have to keep it up for 38 games," Wollitz said.

Things went better in the second game. The Lusatian side deservedly won the difficult away game against newly promoted 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 2-0. However, Cottbus 's biggest weakness was once again evident: the lack of chances. It wasn't until injury time that Tim Capulka scored the opening goal, after Energie had already been two men up due to two Schweinfurt red cards. Wollitz felt his team lacked the "feistiness" to capitalize on such situations earlier. His team still has a lot of work to do.

Bielefeld as a model

On Saturday, Cottbus will have to make better use of their chances. In the first round of the DFB Cup, they face Hannover 96 – and are clear underdogs. The second-division team has started the season even better than FC Energie, winning both of its matches so far and not conceding a goal. Under their new coach, Christian Titz, the Lower Saxony side plays a demanding possession-based style of football, combined with aggressive attacking play. The team was strengthened with 16 new signings over the summer.

One thing could give Cottbus hope: a look at the previous cup season. Arminia Bielefeld, a third-division team, also managed to beat seemingly overwhelming opponents – and marched all the way to the final in Berlin. The fans in Cottbus won't be dreaming quite so big. But neither did the Bielefeld fans – and their team defeated even bigger opponents. After all, the cup, as we all know, has its own rules.