Kruse starts as Leverkusen crashes out of Pokal
Bayer Leverkusen was dumped out of the DFB Pokal by third-tier side Sportfreunde Lotte in penalties, as Australia midfielder Robbie Kruse earned a rare start for the Bundesliga side.
Sportfreunde Lotte, which was only promoted to the third-tier for the first time in May, held on with 10 men to shock Bundesliga giant Bayer Leverkusen in a tense penalty shootout.
Kevin Volland put Leverkusen in front in the 25th minute, before but defender Roberto Hilbert turned the ball into his own net to give the German minnow an equaliser two minutes into the second half.
Socceroos midfielder Kruse, who is yet to make a Bundesliga appearance this season, earned himself a rare start, playing 74 minutes before he was substituted for Admir Mehmedi.
Lotte faced an uphill battle when Tim Wendel was dismissed for a second yellow card in the 78th minute, but Leverkusen failed to take advantage of the numerical advantage, until Volland bagged his second goal in extra time.
But Lotte refused to lie down and Kevin Freiberger found an equaliser in extra time, forcing the match into a penalty shootout.
Despite missing it's opening two strikes, the third-tier side regained its composure and edged out Leverkusen 4-3 on penalties in what will go down as an historic win for the club.
