BERLIN (AP) — Alassane Plea sent Borussia Mönchengladbach into the quarterfinals of the German Cup by securing a 2-1 win over Stuttgart on Wednesday, while Cologne went out on penalties to second-division team Jahn Regensburg.
Gladbach got off to a bad start in Stuttgart with Silas Wamangituka scoring after a fine solo run on a counterattack within two minutes.
Marcus Thuram equalized in first-half injury time with a shot in off the far post, and Plea went past the Stuttgart goalkeeper before slotting the winner inside an empty net in the 50th.
“Every round brings you closer to the target. We want to keep it going as long as possible,” Gladbach coach Marco Rose said.
Cologne let a two-goal lead slip in normal time against Regensburg, whose goalkeeper Alexander Meyer saved a penalty from Emmanuel Dennis to keep the score 2-2. There were no goals in extra time and Meyer saved another penalty from Jorge Meré before Jannes Horn missed Cologne's final effort in the shootout. Max Besuschkow scored the second-division side's winning penalty as it finished 4-3 in the shootout.
“We were the underdog and we believed in ourselves and never gave up,” said Regensburg's Canadian defender Scott Kennedy after his team's third consecutive win on penalties in the competition.
Two goals from Yussuf Poulsen helped Leipzig to a comfortable 4-0 win over second-division Bochum, while Wolfsburg had to rely on goalkeeper Koen Casteels to see out a 1-0 win over Schalke. Counterpart Ralf Fährmann saved Wout Weghorst’s penalty in the 40th, but the Dutch striker reacted fastest to the rebound for what proved the winning goal.
“Schalke played really good football,” Wolfsburg coach Oliver Glasner said.
Last year's winner Bayern Munich and beaten finalist Bayer Leverkusen were already knocked out by lower-league opposition.
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Ciarán Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfaheyAP
