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| Wednesday, March 6, 2002 18:21 EST |
Club will meet Bayer Leverkusen for title May 11
[Reuters]
BERLIN -- Holders Schalke 04 muscled aside
Bayern Munich in a tense and fiercely fought Cup semifinal on
Wednesday, using its numerical superiority in extra-time to
squeeze a 2-0 win.
The turning point in a niggly match, which brought out eight
yellow cards, was the 90th minute dismissal of Bayern defender
Samuel Kuffour for a studded challenge on Schalke's Joerg
Boehme.
Dutch midfielder Marco van Hoogdalem scored Schalke's
opener, thundering in an unstoppable drive from the edge of the
penalty area in the 100th minute after Bayern only half-cleared
a corner. Boehme poked in the second with his left foot from a
tight angle five minutes from the end of extra time.
"It was a deserved win... The best keeper in the world
wouldn't have stopped that first goal," said Schalke coach Huub
Stevens, who believed his side was gaining the upper hand even
before Kuffour's dismissal.
Bayern was left to rue the sending off as well as two clear
chances towards the end of normal time. Brazilian Elber headed
against the bar in the 83rd minute, while Stefan Effenberg
forced a fine save from Schalke keeper Oliver Reck four minutes
later.
"We defeated ourselves as Schalke had the advantage in
extra-time... Anyway, we have no time to dwell on the match.
We've got a tough derby on Saturday," said a sanguine Bayern
coach Ottmar Hitzfeld.
Bayern entertains neighbors TSV 1860 Munich at the weekend.
The German and European champions were also unable to take
revenge for their heaviest defeat of the season.
Only six weeks ago, at the low-point of Bayern's midseason
dip, Schalke beat its visitors 5-1 in the league. Schalke,
meanwhile, confirmed it is the form team of 2002.
"You don't get many chances in a semifinal. The first half
was very tight, with both defenses working, but you saw us
getting steadily stronger after that," said Stevens.
Schalke, who defeated Union Berlin in last season's German
Cup Final, faces a tougher challenge this year. The club's opponent
in Berlin on May 11 is league leader Bayer Leverkusen, who
defeated Cologne 3-1, also after extra-time, in Tuesday's
semifinal.
Wednesday's game did not compare to the last time the two
sides met in the German Cup semifinal in 1984. The match ended
4-4 after normal time and 6-6 after extra-time. Bayern
eventually won the replay 3-2.
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