Arminia Bielefeld is picking up where it left off last season: knocking Bundesliga teams out of the cup. For match winner Isaiah Young, it was one of the highlights of his career.

It was another one of those magical nights at the Bielefeld Alm. As in the previous DFB Cup season, underdogs Arminia Bielefeld knocked Bundesliga side Werder Bremen out of the competition. The hero of the day: former RWE striker Isaiah Young.

It’s the fourth minute of stoppage time when the ball is played through to substitute Benjamin Boakye on the right wing, who has plenty of space in front of him. He looks up, plays the ball low into the middle, where fellow substitute Julian Kania lets it through to Isaiah Young, who has also come off the bench.

Young has plenty of time, takes the ball and then decides to shoot low into the near corner – the perfect decision. Then: ecstatic, boundless jubilation in front of the Bielefeld curve. “Normally, Jule doesn’t pass the ball at all, but he let it through,” said Young, laughing after the long-awaited final whistle of the DFB Cup match. “I just thought: Isi, stay calm,” he recalled his train of thought. “I made contact. I wanted to go for the far corner, but then the goalkeeper closed it down, so I shot at the near post.” He did everything right – and the reward was the Man of the Match trophy.

That was an amazing moment, one of the best of my career. I’m happy.

Young remains grounded, putting the team’s performance first. “I don’t think I fully deserve it,” said the 27-year-old modestly. “But I’m definitely grateful. It’s very, very cool. It goes to the whole team because we put in such a great performance.”

But even though he puts the team first, this important goal also has a very special meaning for him personally: “That was an amazing moment, one of the best of my career. I’m happy,” says Young, who played 158 times for Rot-Weiss Essen before joining Arminia Bielefeld.

Is this the start of another unforgettable cup run for Arminia? Young has also internalized the right mentality: “You go into every game with the attitude that you want to win. Thinking otherwise is nonsense. No matter who the opponent is, you can always win. This sport is always 50:50 – one loser, one winner. We have confidence in ourselves. Bremen also played well, but today we are the deserved winners.”