Second-division Greuther Fuerth joined Bayern Munich, Borussia Moenchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals of the German Cup after they shocked Bundesliga side Hoffenheim 1-0 on Wednesday.
Bayern are chasing their 16th German Cup title and are into Saturday’s draw for the last four after their 2-0 quarter-final win at VfB Stuttgart with French winger Franck Ribery scoring the opening goal.
After Brazilian defender Rafinha found some space on the right wing, German midfielder Thomas Mueller produced a defence-splitting pass which allowed Ribery to fire home from close range with half an hour gone.
Mario Gomez added the second a minute after the break when he followed up his own shot and netted the rebound to score against his old club.
Second division Duisburg reached last year’s final and Fuerth are threatening to do the same after dispensing with Hoffenheim.
Canadian striker Olivier Occean grabbed the all-important winner just a minute shy of the halftime break.
Having knocked Nuremberg out in the third round, Fuerth have claimed German league scalps in consecutive rounds and one of the Bundesliga’s top four teams awaits them in the semi-finals on March 20 and 21.
Gladbach needed added time to squeeze past Hertha Berlin on a bitter night in the capital city in temperatures of -12C at the Olympic Stadium.
Belgian defender Filip Daems netted a penalty in the 101st minute before Swedish defender Oscar Wendt scored the second in the 120th minute with his first touch of the game less than a minute after coming off the bench.
On Tuesday, Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp admitted he was far from happy the German league leaders had to play in arctic-like temperatures in their 4-0 quarter-final win at minnows Holstein Kiel.
“It was like ice hockey on grass,” fumed Klopp as the live-screened match went ahead even though the pitch at Kiel’s Holstein Stadion ground was partly frozen amid -18C temperatures.
“There was a great danger the players were going to get hurt.”
Klopp’s concern was understandable with his side two points clear at the top of the German league and they face Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday in the Bundesliga.