Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich overcame holders Schalke in the German Cup, but only after a penalty shoot-out.
Neither side could manage a goal in a drab encounter at the Olympic Stadium. It was left to Roque Santa Cruz to hit home the winning penalty, after Denmark international Ebbe Sand had missed his side’s first. Schalke were thus denied a third straight Cup triumph, which would have been a German record.
It was somewhatunsurprising to see Cologne, top of the German second division, defeat Bundesliga strugglers Nuremberg 2-0. Matthias Scherz bagged a second half brace for the away side.
Werder Bremen, who have won the Cup four times themselves, scraped through 2-1 against LR Ahlen. They needed a last-gasp strike from Ivan Klasnic to see offthe battling home side.
Debt-ridden Kaiserslautern gave their fans something to cheer about, as Harold Ramzy and Lincoln goalswere enough to beat SC Freiburg 2-0. Freiburg had defeated Borussia Dortmund in the previous round.
On Tuesday night, Bayer Leverkusen won 2-1 against Waldhhof Mannheim, whilst the only amateur side left in the competition, SpVgg Unterhaching, triumphed over first division Hansa Rostock 3-2 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
