The DFB-Pokal generally has its own laws, in women's football it has been in effect for a while: The cup will go to Wolfsburg in May.
On Sunday evening, the Lower Saxons triumphed for the seventh time in a row.
But the character of the imposing series also means that the "she-wolves" almost always go into the final as favorites, but still have to do hard footballing work until they receive the silverware.
In the Cologne arena, outsiders Frankfurter Eintracht fought devotedly against the supposed cup law for 120 minutes with all available forces.
In the end, however, VfL had the better end for themselves.
Ewa Pajor scored the golden goal in the 118th minute after a goalless 90 minutes.
At the moment when the ball hit the corner untenable, the outgoing head coach Stephan Lerch sank quietly on his knees in front of his bench.
After this season he will move to TSG Hoffenheim, where he will take on male juniors.
As a farewell, he delivered another great victory that prevented VfL's first untitled season since 2013.
Because in the Bundesliga, the green-whites are two points behind leaders Bayern Munich before the last match day.
"You are sometimes a Trabant, sometimes a Porsche"
The Lower Saxons and Hessians did not deliver a high-class final, but a dramatic one. The Wolfsburg women are used to that at the final location on the Rhine: In the last five Cologne finals, the series winners had to go three times over a distance of 120 minutes. The SGE, who are still record winners in this competition with nine cup wins from the times of 1. FFC Frankfurt, sank stunned to the ground after their great fight.
Before kick-off, VfL coach Lerch tried to make a comparison from the automotive industry for the young Frankfurt team, which appeared fickle in the Bundesliga. “Sometimes you're a Trabant, sometimes a Porsche,” said the 36-year-old. But the Hessians acted more like a middle-class diesel that turns tough and relentless. It took 42 minutes until the first promising Wolfsburg goal chance, which only strengthened Frankfurt's defenses. Lena Oberdorf hit the outside post from an acute angle.
The underdogs really bit into this final. And because they didn't know what to do with their rare ball possession times and even rarer switching opportunities and the defending champion didn't get going offensively from the game, the confrontation was not really worth seeing. At least the two parties were unable to advertise their sport on the big (television) stage. The game thrived on the David versus Goliath constellation, combined with the question of whether and how long the underdog can withstand the attacks of the favorite.
After the change, the Wolfsburg seemed to get going better. Lena Oberdorf had the chance to take the lead after a corner kick with a head (52.), five minutes later Eintracht defender Leticia Santos had to save in dire straits. But in the 59th minute, the SGE suddenly had the best chance of the game: Alexandra Johannsdottir reflexively defused VfL goalkeeper Almuth Schult's shot for the knee injured captain Tanja Pawollek.
But from then on the Frankfurt back team got even less relief. Wave of attack after wave of attack rolled onto the goal of national goalkeeper Merle Frohms - and again and again the Wolfsburg women got caught in the thick defensive network of Eintracht. At least Ewa Pajor came to the end, but just missed (70th), Fridolina Rolfö hit the outside netting (73rd).
The most fast-paced phase of the match was in the final minutes of regular time, when the “lucky punch” was possible on both sides. Especially when Merle Frohms steered a cross against the crossbar of his own goal in stoppage time. In the extension, the focus was on her counterpart Almuth Schult. For a foul just outside of her penalty area, she saw the red card (96th). The free-kick chance from the best position missed the Frankfurt international striker Laura Freilang, who was pale that day.
But even when Wolfsburg was outnumbered, the statics of the match did not change much - VfL stayed on the trigger, the SGE held on to it with devotion and launched a few wild counterattacks. In terms of strength, the Hessians, who were only sixth in the league, had long outgrown themselves. But in the end, the well-known cup rules with Wolfsburg attendance at the final took hold again