BERLIN (AP) — American teen Joe Scally made his debut for Borussia Mönchengladbach on Monday when he helped the team to a 1-0 win over former heavyweight Kaiserslautern in the first round of the German Cup.
The 18-year-old Scally, who joined Gladbach from New York City FC in January, shone despite playing on the left of defense. He usually likes to play on the right. Scally played in Patrick Herrmann, who hit the post before the break, and made a good case for his Bundesliga debut against Bayern Munich in the league-opener on Friday.
Lars Stindl’s early goal was enough for Gladbach to beat Kaiserslautern and give new coach Adi Hütter a winning start on his debut.
The home team made it difficult for Gladbach despite playing in the third division. Kaiserslautern, one of the founding members of the Bundesliga, won the last of its four German championships in 1998.
Also Monday, Hoffenheim needed extra time to beat third-division Viktoria Cologne 3-2. Andrej Kramaric scored the winning goal in the 108th minute.
Viktoria used the occasion to campaign for people to and get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The team’s jerseys had the words “Vaccinate! Now!” written on the front, and the club also offered vaccinations in a tent at the stadium for fans.
Ingolstadt defeated Erzgebirge Aue 2-1, and another second-division side, Karlsruher SC, defeated fourth-tier Sportfreunde Lotte 4-1.
Bayern’s first-round game against Bremer SV on Friday was postponed from until Aug. 25 due to a number of coronavirus infections among the fifth-tier team’s players.
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