Marco Reus (front) of Borussia Dortmund celebrates scoring during the DFB Cup match between Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin in Dortmund, Germany, Oct. 31, 2018. Borussia Dortmund won 3-2. (Xinhua/Joachim Bywaletz)
BERLIN, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Marco Reus' 3-2 overtime winner helped Borussia Dortmund to eliminate second division side Union Berlin meanwhile Werder Bremen eased 5-1 past lower league team Flensburg at the second round in the German Cup On Wednesday.
Union Berlin staged a lively first half performance against much-changed hosts Dortmund. Yet it were the "BVB" who opened the scoring late in the first half when Christian Pulisic poked home a rebound following Shinji Kagawa's header in the 40th minute.
The visitors from the capital remained unimpressed and responded almost straight away but Kenny Prince Redondo's shot on target rattled only the crossbar.
However, Union's efforts were rewarded after the interval as substitute Sebastian Polter shocked the hosts after completing a fast break via Robert Zulj with an hour into the game.
It was a short-lived joy for the visitors though, as Dortmund secured their lead ten minutes later when Maximilian Philipp drilled the ball form sharp angle into the near post corner.
Union kept it bowling and levelled the scores with two minutes to the final whistle as Sebastian Polter headed home Robert Zulj's delivery into the box to force Dortmund into overtime.
Dortmund increased the pressure in the overtime and sealed the deal in the closing period when Marco Reus converted a foul play penalty to book the round of the last 16.
Martin Harnik's brace moved Werder Bremen 5-1 past Flensburg, who were able to hold the pace in the first half.
The "Green-Whites" ensured a quickstart on the road as veteran striker Claudio Pizarro broke the deadlock after tapping home a rebound from the post in the 8th minute.
Despite the early setback, Flensburg regrouped and responded well to level the scores in the 27th minute when Ilidio Pastor Santos' cross into the box found the back of the net.
Bremen took the gloves off and established a 3-1 advantage within the first half as Florian Kainz hammered home a long-range effort in the 38th minute before Davy Klaassen converted a foul play penalty just before the break.
After the restart, Florian Kohfeldt's men were not done with the scoring as substitute Martin Harnik provided another two goals to round off the 5-1 win on the road.
Elsewhere, Nuremberg edged Rostock 4-2 in the penalty shootout. Schalke came from behind to down Cologne 6-5 on penalties. Bayer Leverkusen crushed Borussia Monchengladbach 5-0. Holstein Kiel knocked out Freiburg 2-1. Duisburg beat Bielefeld 3-0 and Hoffenheim lost 2-0 to Leipzig.
