Sand spares Schalke's blushes

German Cup holders FC Schalke 04 needed a goal from Ebbe Sand deep into extra time to beat amateur side Darmstadt 1-0 away on Wednesday after a tense third-round tie in which each team had a player sent off.

Heading for penalties
The match was heading for penalties and Darmstadt, who knocked out first division clubs FC St. Pauli and SC Freiburg in the previous rounds, were dreaming of another upset when Denmark striker Sand scored the winning goal in the 115th minute.

Two dismissed
The Gelsenkirchen club were reduced to ten men in the 48th minute when Argentinian defender Anibal Matellan received his marching orders for bringing down Darmstadt captain David Wagner when in a scoring position. Darmstadt midfield player Zivojin Juskic followed him seven minutes from the end of normal time for a violent gesture towards Schalke midfield player Niels Oude-Kamphuis.

Extra-time win
Schalke were not the only team to struggle. First division sides Hertha BSC Berlin and 1. FC Köln also survived frights in their third-round ties. Hertha had to wait for extra time and a goal from Hungarian midfield player Pál Dárdai to win 2-1 at second division Eintracht Frankfurt. Köln won 5-3 on penalties at amateur side Uerdingen after the match was level at 1-1 after extra time.

Scholl on target
Champions FC Bayern München came alive after the break with goals from striker Carsten Jancker and midfield player Mehmet Scholl to record a 2-0 victory at amateur side VfL Osnabrueck in a second-round match. The European champions were already 2-0 up when they had Croatian defender Robert Kovac sent off for a second bookable offence with 15 minutes remaining.