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Dortmund defeat Berlin 3-0 to book German Cup final

Xinhua, April 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

Borussia Dortmund cruised to a 3-0 victory over Hertha Berlin in the semi-finals to secure their berth in the German Cup final here on Wednesday.

Dortmund progressed for the third time in row into the German Cup final, which is a new club record, to face Bayern for the fourth time.

Thomas Tuchel' s men controlled the proceedings from the kick-off while the hosts failed to gain a foothold into the game. However, despite Dortmund' s dominance the spectators had to wait until the 21st minute before Gonzalo Castro utilized a rebound to curl the ball from the edge of the box into the top left corner for the opener.

Hertha Berlin lacked in penetration and were unable to pose any threat whereas Marco Reus as well as Mats Hummels squandered promising opportunities to extend the lead at the other end of the pitch. The hosts created their first chance just before the break after Jens Hegeler tested Dortmund custodian Roman Buerki with a low shot from very close range.

After the restart Dortmund started where they left off, as Henrik Mkhitaryan pulled wide from 17 meters. Dortmund should have added another two goals but Berlin goalkeeper Rune Jarstein was on guard to defuse the efforts from Adrian Ramos and Mkhitaryan within a short period of time.

Jarstein was helpless though when Reus doubled the lead in the 75th minute. Shinji Kagawa made use of a turnover to tee up for Reus, who had no problems to make it 2-0. The second goal took the wind out of Berlin' s sails as Dortmund rounded off the win with the third goal as Mkhitaryan completed Reus' groundwork in the closing period.

"We had no chance today. My team played on their limit. Hegeler should have equalized to spark hopes before the break. However, Dortmund was too fast for us," Berlin coach Pal Dardai said.

"I am very delighted with my team' s performance. A big compliments to my team. They deserved the win," Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel said.

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund clash on May 21 to battle for the German Cup at Berlin' s Olympia stadium. Endit