Wolfsburg have progressed to the second round of the DFB-Pokal after beating second-tier side SV Darmstadt 98 in a penalty shootout this evening.

Wolfsburg created the majority of the chances in the first half, with Joshua Guilavogui, Kevin de Bruyne and Ivica Olic all having early shots.

De Bruyne came closest to breaking the deadlock in the opening 45 minutes when he unleashed a powerful strike from outside the box, but his finish bounced back off the bar.

Tobias Kempe almost opened the scoring for the hosts against the run of play just before the break when he tried to squeeze the ball in from a tight angle, but Max Grun made the save.

The visitors continued to put the Darmstadt defence under pressure in the second half, but Christian Mathenia made a couple of saves to keep the sides level and send the match into extra time.

Bas Dost was the only player to have a shot on target in the additional half an hour as he tried to power the ball in from an Olic cross, but his shot was saved.

Darmstadt took the lead in the penalty shootout when Naldo's spot kick for Wolfsburg was saved, but Maurice Exslager missed the fourth shot for the home side to let Wolfsburg back into contention.

Vieirinha put the visitors ahead before Grun made a stop to complete the Bundesliga side's comeback and send them into the next round.