Berlin : Third division side Bielefeld flabbergasted Bremen 3-1 to eliminate the top flight team while Bayern, Wolfsburg and Monchengladbach marched into the German Cup quarterfinals. Bielefeld’s Manuel Junglas donated two goals on Wednesday to upset Bremen in the Round of 16. A moment of madness by Bremen’s defence invited Bielefeld to break the deadlock as Junglas needed no second invitation to tap in Tom Schuetz’ square pass into the open goal (32nd minute), reports Xinhua.
Bielefeld proceeded with their performance to surprise Bremen with a second goal of the match after the restart when Sebastian Schuppan poked home a corner-kick by Florian Dick (57th). Bremen’s Clemens Fritz sparked hopes for comeback when he reduced the arrears to 1-2 with a low, long range effort into the far post corner as Bielefeld were unable to clear the ball from the danger zone (76th). However, Bielefeld’s Junglas destroyed all hopes of a comeback when he wrapped up his brace to edge Bremen from the German Cup. Bremen had to complete the game with 10 men as Fritz saw his second yellow of the evening.
Bielefeld progressed into the quarter-finals for the first time in nine years. They eliminated Bremen, the second top flight team after Berlin. Defending champions Bayern Munich craved out an unspectacular 2-0 win over second division side Braunschweig. The ‘Bavarians’ controlled the proceedings from kick-off but had to wait until the dying minutes of the first half before David Alaba opened the scoring with a dead-ball goal from 20 metres. Bayern Munich were not done with scoring as Mario Goetze’s solo run and goal sewed up the 2-0 victory (57th) to book a quarter-final berth for the German giants.
Wolfsburg advanced to the quarters for the third time in a row as they eliminated second division club Leipzig 2-0. Leipzig took the reins on home soil but it were the visitors from Wolfsburg who broke the deadlock against the run of the game (20th). The ‘Wolves’ completed a counter-attack via Kevin de Bruyne before Daniel Caligiuri slotted home right-footed from 11 metres. The hosts remained unimpressed and carried on with their offensive strategy, yet unable to threat Wolfsburg’s defence. After the restart, Wolfsburg punished Leipzig for their poor chances as Timm Klose’s header, following a corner, made the game safe in the 57th minute.
Resilient fourth division club Offenbach gave Monchengladbach a hard fight. Nonetheless, the ‘Foals’ were able to progress into the next round thanks to two second-half goals. Monchengladbach lacked in penetration against Offenbach’s well-positioned defence in the first half. However, things changed in the second half as referee Christian Dingert awarded the hosts a handball penalty. Max Kruse stepped up and converted the penalty into the bottom left (52nd). The opener took the wind out of Offenbach’s sails as Monchengladbach sealed the deal (83rd) when Patrick Herrmann doubled the lead.
