Frankfurt reaches German Cup semis thanks to Mainz blunders
BERLIN (AP) Eintracht Frankfurt booked its place in the German Cup semifinals with a 3-0 derby win at home over Mainz on Wednesday.
Three mistakes from the visitors gifted Frankfurt its goals, and Mainz also had Danny Latza sent off late for a rash challenge on Marco Fabian.
Mainz goalkeeper Rene Adler, making his return from a thigh injury that had sidelined him since the end of October, was at fault for Frankfurt's opener in the 17th minute. The former Germany goalkeeper lost control of a simple back-pass from Stefan Bell and Ante Rebic pounced before receiving the ball back from Marius Wolf to score.
Alexander Hack then scored an own goal early in the second half and followed it up with a defensive blunder that allowed Omar Mascarell to make it 3-0 after an hour played.
Latza's red card ended any pretense of a contest, and furious Mainz fans berated their team after the final whistle.
Schalke grabbed the last semifinal spot after an early goal from Guido Burgstaller was enough to secure a 1-0 win at home over Wolfsburg.
Burgstaller scored on a counterattack in the 10th minute, turning one way then another to elude Jeffrey Bruma before shooting inside the far post.
Yunus Malli came closest to an equalizer when he struck the crossbar in the first half.
Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen advanced on Tuesday.
The semifinals are scheduled for April 17-18.
