English teenager Jude Bellingham won and converted a penalty within 10 minutes of being subbed on to guide a nervous Borussia Dortmund to a 2-0 victory over Hannover on Wednesday and a place in the last 16 of the German Cup.
With visiting Dortmund clinging to a 1-0 lead only thanks to some acrobatic goalkeeping from Gregor Kobel, manager Edin Terzic made four changes in a six-minute period during the second half, including bringing Bellingham on from the bench.
Bellingham - who had previously played every minute of Dortmund’s season - made an immediate impact, winning a penalty and duly converting it to give the nervous visitors a 2-0 lead.
Dortmund had taken the lead in the 10th minute thanks to the in-form Julian Brandt, who won the ball back in midfield before dinking a back-heeled chip to Youssoffa Moukoko in the box.
The 17-year-old Moukoko’s attempted cross hit the boot of Hannover defender Bright Arrey-Mbi and was deflected in at the near post.
Pushed on by a 49,000-strong home crowd, Hannover gradually gained the upper hand in the first half, with Kobel pulling off two crucial saves from close range in the 30th and 32nd minutes to help Dortmund keep their narrow advantage at half-time.
Hannover striker Hendrick Weydant had a clear chance to equalise after 52 minutes but scuffed his shot when presented with an open goal.
With the home side in control, Terzic decided he had seen enough and brought four first teamers from the bench, including Bellingham.
Dortmund was reduced to 10 men with five minutes remaining when forward Karim Adeyemi saw a straight red for bringing down a counter-attacking Derrick Koehn on the edge of the penalty box.
The visitor held firm from the free-kick and held on for victory.
Later on Wednesday, 20-time German Cup winner Bayern Munich travel to Bavarian neighbour Augsburg, while struggling Stuttgart hosts Arminia Bielefeld, Jahn Regensburg hosts Fortuna Duesseldorf and Union Berlin hosts Heidenheim.
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