Third-division soccer club Dynamo Dresden are aiming to reach the last 16 of the Saxon State Cup with their 50th competitive match win against regional league side Chemnitzer FC. "We've seen the qualities of Chemnitz in preparation and are approaching the game like a third division match," said Dresden head coach Thomas Stamm ahead of Saturday's away game at the Stadion an der Gellertstraße (2.05pm/MDR), "even if they haven't started quite so well, they are one of the top teams in the region and have enormous potential."
Dynamo have won 49 of the 86 competitive matches between the two teams to date, while Chemnitz have won 21 games. Coach Stamm will start the game with Daniel Mesenhöler in goal: "That was already clear beforehand and we communicated that to the team in the run-up to the season."
The Dresden side have been warned by the 1:0 victory of the regional league team in preparation. "We weren't completely fresh there in July, but we should have drawn the game. This win can motivate Chemnitz, so we have to be wide awake," said Stamm, looking ahead.
Cracking highlight
The game has no relevance for the Chemnitz coaching team, but could be a tiny plus point in the team, said CFC coach Benjamin Duda: "Every player is eager for the clash because we expect a lot from this game as a highlight." The coach of the record cup winners is also approaching the cup match "as if it were a league game." And it was precisely in the league that Chemnitz celebrated only their second victory last matchday with a 2-0 win in Luckenwalde, the first under the new coach.
In contrast, there are twelve triumphs in the national cup. Duda will be without three players against Dresden, but is hoping for a good atmosphere from the expected 10,000-plus spectators - including 1,500 from Dresden. Instead of looking back at the 1:0 victory over Dynamo in preparation, Duda talks about the last surprise in the cup, which was not so long ago. In the last quarter-final, third-division side FC Erzgebirge Aue were knocked out of the competition 3-0, a fact to which Duda also refers: "We want to go all out in this game and use it as a highlight."
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