Saarbrücken Cup fairytale lives on with Gladbach quarter-final scalp

Saarbruecken's Kai Bruenker (L) and Moenchengladbach's Ko Itakura battle for the ball during the German DFB Cup quarter final soccer match between 1. FC Saarbruecken and Borussia Moenchengladbach at Ludwigspark Stadium. Uwe Anspach/dpa

Kai Brünker's stoppage-time goal sent third division Saarbrücken into the German Cup semi-finals with a 2-1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, their third Bundesliga giant-killing after toppling Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Robin Hack gave mid-table Gladbach an early lead on Tuesday after Franck Honorat's pull-back but Amine Naifi levelled for the hosts on 11 minutes with a fierce strike from 18 metres.

The mid-table third-tier side defended stoutly, although the Foals failed themselves to find that killer pass, and the game looked to be drifting to extra-time.

But up popped Brünker to stun the three-times German Cup winners and seal a semi-final clash with second division Kaiserslautern on April 2.

"It's crazy. Wow that was a real battle," the match-winner told ZDF.
"It's awesome that our journey can continue."

Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen are the only top-flight side left and host second tier Fortuna Dusseldorf on April 3 as they close in on a first-ever double.

The Saarbrücken game was rearranged because of a waterlogged pitch last month and there was a risk the same fate would again befall the tie.

More heavy overnight rain left the pitch struggling to drain on Monday but conditions had improved enough on Tuesday for another huge shock.

Gladbach captain Julian Weigl said: "It's really hard to find the words. It's extremely disappointing and it really hurts."

Saarbruecken's Amine Naiefi celebrates after scoring his side's first goal of the game during the German DFB Cup quarter final soccer match between 1. FC Saarbruecken and Borussia Moenchengladbach at Ludwigspark Stadium. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Saarbruecken's Amine Naiefi (R) celebrates after scoring his side's first goal of the game during the German DFB Cup quarter final soccer match between 1. FC Saarbruecken and Borussia Moenchengladbach at Ludwigspark Stadium. Uwe Anspach/dpa
Moenchengladbach's Robin Hack (L) scores his side's first goal of the game during the German DFB Cup quarter final soccer match between 1. FC Saarbruecken and Borussia Moenchengladbach at Ludwigspark Stadium. Uwe Anspach/dpa

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