Hoffenheim, Schalke through to last eight of German Cup

BERLIN - German Bundesliga clubs Hoffenheim and Schalke 04 Tuesday advanced to the quarter-finals of the German Cup as weather played havoc with the match schedule.

The game between Kickers Offenbach and Nuremberg was postponed earlier in the week, while the match between Koblenz and Kaiserslautern was called off due to snow on the pitch late Tuesday.

Schalke 04 needed a late goal from Peruvian international Jefferson Farfan six minutes from the end after being set up by Raul to win 1-0 in Augsburg, who are sitting top of the second division.

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer denied Augsburg a goal midway through the second half when he pulled off a good save from a Tobias Werner shot.

Schalke coach Felix Magath said he fully understood why his players did not look impressive. “The conditions were really difficult and I think if Bayern Munich had played here it would have been a different matter and there would have been plenty of complaints.

“Augsburg is a good side. We knew that in advance. We went into the game as favourite and even if we did not play very well, we won the game and that is the most important thing in a cup game.”

In an all-first division clash Hoffenheim had fewer problems in their match against bottom placed Borussia Moenchengladbach and won 2-0 through goals by Gylfi Thor Sigurdsson and Demba Ba.

Iceland international Sigurdsson opened the scoring in the 35th minute with a well-taken free-kick, while Ba scored the second in the 63rd minute after three Moenchengladbach players failed to clear after a corner.

Hoffenheim defender Andreas Beck said that they had really wanted to win the game. “We went into the match determined to advance and I am glad that we managed to do that.

“We are now looking forward to the break and then continue our good season,” he said.

Four matches are scheduled for Wednesday, including the defending champions Bayern Munich, who are away to VfB Stuttgart.