Leipzig edge St. Pauli, Stuttgart secure hard-earned win to advance into German Cup last 16

Berlin: Three first-half goals sent Leipzig through to the last 16 of the German Cup with a 4-2 win over St. Pauli on Tuesday. The Red Bulls took the initiative against the defensive-minded visitors, needing just 12 minutes to break the deadlock. St. Pauli failed to clear the ball out of the area, allowing Yussuf Poulsen to slot home from six meters. The hosts continued to press, and five minutes later, Christoph Baumgartner headed in Lutsharel Geertruida’s pinpoint cross, reports Xinhua. St. Pauli halved the deficit on the half-hour mark when Morgan Guilavogui latched onto Johannes Eggestein’s cutback pass. Leipzig restored their two-goal lead when Poulsen finished off a counterattack to make it 3-1. After the restart, St. Pauli came out firing, putting the passive hosts on the back foot, and were finally rewarded for their efforts on the hour mark when Eric Smith’s cross was met by Lukas Klostermann with an unstoppable deflection. The visitors threatened more in the closing stages, but Leipzig’s Antonio Nusa put the result beyond doubt with an 80th-minute solo run. Elsewhere, Chris Fuhrich’s late winner helped Stuttgart progress after they defeated Kaiserslautern 2-1. Stuttgart opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Ermedin Demirovic’s solo run and square pass found Nick Woltemade, who slotted home from close range. The lower league side equalized on the stroke of halftime when Fabian Rieder fouled Marlon Ritter in the area. Boris Tomiak stepped up to convert the resulting penalty into the bottom right-hand corner. In the 75th minute, Fuhrich drilled the ball into the bottom right-hand corner from 14 meters. Kaiserslautern continued to press for an equalizer, but Stuttgart held firm to protect their narrow lead until the final whistle. “It was an open game until the 60th minute. We turned the ball over too much, and Kaiserslautern started to look dangerous. In the end, I think it’s a deserved win for us,” said Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeness. In other games on Tuesday, Borussia Dortmund crashed out after Jonas Wind’s overtime winner secured Wolfsburg a 1-0 victory. Luca Waldschmidt’s brace paved the way for Cologne’s 3-0 victory over Holstein Kiel. Jahn Regensburg downed Greuther Furth 1-0. Patrik Schick was on target twice as titleholders Bayer Leverkusen cruised 3-0 past third-division side SV Elversberg. Augsburg defeated second-division outfit Schalke 3-0, and Karlsruher FC beat Offenbacher Kickers 2-0. –IANS