Kaiserslautern cruises into German Cup semifinals with 3-1 win against Hertha

Kaiserslautern coach Dimitris Grammozis made no changes to his line-up that crushed Schalke 04 4-1 and the decision quickly paid off for the visitors.

Kaiserslautern’s Jan Elvedi celebrates scoring their first goal against Hertha. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Kaiserslautern eased past hosts and fellow second-tier club Hertha Berlin 3-1 on Wednesday to book a spot in the German Cup last four, a decade after its last semifinal appearance.

Kaiserslautern coach Dimitris Grammozis made no changes to his line-up that crushed Schalke 04 4-1 and the decision quickly paid off for the visitors.

It took a fifth-minute lead when Jan Elvedi rifled home after Hertha failed to clear a free kick floated into the box.

Richmond Tachie completed a quick move with a fine shot from the edge of the box to make it 2-0 and pile pressure on the hosts.

Hertha, who reached the last four in 2016, had a chance to cut the deficit three minutes after halftime but Haris Tabakovic could not beat keeper Julian Krahl from six metres.

Kaiserslautern scored again as Filip Kaloc pounced on a Hertha error in midfield, charging through and drilling in a low shot from outside the box to kill off the game.

Fabian Reese managed a stoppage-time consolation goal for Hertha.

Second division, Fortuna Duesseldorf is through to the semifinals. Bayer Leverkusen hosts VfB Stuttgart and Saarbruecken takes on Borussia Moenchengladbach next week in the other quarterfinals.