BERLIN, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Cologne squandered their lead twice and needed a penalty shoot-out to overcome lower league side Wehen Wiesbaden 3-2 at the first round of the German Cup on Sunday.
First-division outfit Cologne got away with a black eye as they squandered a two-goal lead in regular time and a one-goal lead in the overtime before they eventually edged Wehen Wiesbaden on penalties thanks to three saves from goalkeeper Timo Horn.
The second division side took the reins from the start and pressed Cologne into the defense as Nicklas Shipnoski and Maximilian Dittgen tested goalkeeper Horn in the opening period.
Cologne staged a clinical chance conversion and shocked the hosts with the opener against the run of the game as Jhon Cordoba headed home a pinpoint cross from Florian Kainz to the far post with 39 minutes into the match.
The visitors' gained momentum and doubled their advantage only three minutes later after a Kainz right-footed effort found the top right corner.
After the restart, Wehen Wiesbaden came out with their guns blazing and their efforts were rewarded eight minutes into the second half when Jeremias Lorch poked home Horn's poor parry to reduce the arrears.
Lorch remained in the thick of things as he flabbergasted the "Billy Goats" only moments later as he sealed his brace with a hammer from 30 meters into the bottom left corner.
Cologne increased the pressure and pressed for the decider but still the visitors weren't able to overcome Wiesbaden's defense in the closing period.
However, Cologne remained powerful in overtime and grabbed the lead once again as substitute Louis Schaub, who was fielded six minutes earlier, scored the 3-2 lead in the 107th minute.
Wehen Wiesbaden kept it rolling and forced Cologne into the penalty shoot-out as Daniel-Kofi Kyereh scored the equalizer out of thin air with two minutes to play in overtime.
The penalty shoot-out rounded off the seesaw encounter as Wiesbaden's goalkeeper Lukas Watowiak saved two penalties while Cologne's Horn defused three shots on target to secure his side the second round in the German Cup.
The following fixtures conclude the first round in the German Cup on Monday: Hallerscher FC clash with Wolfsburg and Energie Cottbus host defending champions Bayern Munich.?
