The competition began with a qualifying round for the 65 clubs of the 2nd DDR-Liga that had been dissolved at the end of the previous season. They were joined by 17 finalists of the Bezirkspokal competitions. 31 teams from the DDR-Liga joined in the first round, the 14 DDR-Oberliga teams only joined in the third round. By then all but two Bezirkspokal and 2nd DDR-Liga teams each had been eliminated.[citation needed]
The fourth round saw the eleven remaining Oberliga teams, four DDR-Liga sides and BSG Empor Neustrelitz as the last club of those that had qualified via the Bezirkspokal. Neustrelitz went out following a 1–2 defeat at the hands of SC Motor Jena, as well as last year's finalist BSG Chemie Zeitz who were eliminated by a 0–2 loss against SC Aufbau Magdeburg. ASG Vorwärts Neubrandenburg were the only DDR-liga side to reach the quarter finals.[citation needed]
Here Neubrandenburg suffered a 2–7 defeat against SC Leipzig who went on to eliminate defending cup winners Motor Zwickau by a 3–2 extra time win. The second finalist was SC Aufbau Magdeburg who had beaten SC Dynamo Berlin in the quarter finals and SC Motor Jena in the semis.[citation needed]
The cup final, played 5 weeks after the end of the DDR-Oberliga saw the third-placed team of SC Leipzig play eleventh-placed SC Aufbau Magdeburg. Despite the intense heat—Neues Deutschland called the match the "heat final" with 33 °C (91 °F) in the shade,[1]Berliner Zeitung talks about heat near 40 °C (104 °F)[2]—Leipzig was in control from the start, playing a faster, more flexible and better thought-out game than their opposition. After Leipzig's second goal, following a solo effort from Frenzel, finished by winger Engelhardt, Magdeburg pushed to avert the impending defeat and scored after a lonely run by Hermann Stöcker and a finish by Walter. This goal rallied Magdeburg and a short freekick was used to equalize, again by Walter. As two players had had to be treated for injuries, referee Kunze—described as heavy-set[1] and not always at the top of the game[2] added some more time. And with just seconds left, Stöcker capitalized on a bad clearance by Leipzig's goalkeeper to score the winning goal.
^ abJoachim Pfitzner (14 June 1964). "Magdeburgs Pokalsieg Sekunden vor Schluss" [Magdeburg's cup win seconds before the end]. Neues Deutschland (in German). Vol. 19, no. 162. p. 8.
^ abWerner Fischer; Bodo Radtke (14 June 1964). "FDGB-Pokal nach Magdeburg" [FDGB Cup to Magdeburg]. Berliner Zeitung (in German). Vol. 20, no. 162. p. 7.