Berlin, Feb 8 (IANS): Eintracht Frankfurt progressed into the next round after punishing harmless Mainz 3-0, while Guido Burgstaller's sole goal of the game helped Schalke to edge out Wolfsburg 1-0 at the German Cup quarterfinals.
The "Eagles" have reached the semis for the second time in row after benefitting from three mistakes by Mainz to win 3-0 on the road on Wednesday, reports Xinhua.
From the start, Frankfurt dictated the pace on the pitch against hosts Mainz, who posed no threat.
However, Frankfurt needed a blackout by Mainz' goalkeeper Rene Adler, who stumbled over the ball, allowing Ante Rebic to break the deadlock into the empty goal 17 minutes into the game.
After the restart, Mainz tried to make amendments but things got worse as Alexander Hack deflected a square pass from Frankfurt's Sebastien Haller into the wrong goal to double the lead in the 53rd minute.
Frankfurt remained on the front foot while Mainz continued to produce errors as Hack lost the ball at the edge of the penalty box allowing Omar Mascarell to seal the deal with a chip over onrushing Mainz keeper Adler in the 62nd minute.
Mainz ensured a negative highlight in the dying minutes of the game as Danny Latza booked a straight red card for a rude foul play to Marco Fabian in the 82nd minute.
"It is a deserved victory for Frankfurt. The opener was symptomatic for the entire game. We beat ourselves today," Mainz head coach Sandro Schwarz said.
"We dominated the game until the last minute. It is a deserved victory. Of course, the first and second goal were giveaways by Mainz but we also put a lot of pressure on them," Frankfurt head coach Niko Kovac said.
Elsewhere, Schalke booked their berth for the German Cup semifinals as the "Royal Blues" overcame uninspired Wolfsburg 1-0.
Domenico Tedesco's men scored an early opener through Guido Burgstaller, who finished off a counterattack from inside the box with 10 minutes, and focused on their defence from then on.
The Wolves were unable to level the scores as they lacked in ideas to overcome Schalke's well-positioned defence through out the match.