Second-division soccer club Alemania Aachen shocked Bundesliga leaders Mainz 05 in the second round of the German Cup on Wednesday, beating the visitors 2-1 and advancing to the final 16 for only the 11th time since 1980.

Aachen's Benjamin Auer and Marco Hoeger scored their side's goals on either side of halftime, while substitute Adam Szalai pulled one back for Mainz in the 68th minute.

The results were a shock to Mainz, which has taken the Bundesliga by storm, winning eight out of the season's first nine games.

"We need to put this game behind us as soon as possible and give 100 percent in our next league match against Borussia Dortmund," said Mainz's Andre Schuerle, while goalkeeper Christian Wetklo added: "We simply woke up too late and then could not give enough."

Third-division Kickers Offenbach also delivered a stunning defeat to Bundesliga second-place team Borussia Dortmund after a goalless game forced the match into penalties. Offenbach keeper Robert Wulnikowski was the hero, saving two of Dortmund's spot-kicks, leading to a 4-2 victory for the home-side.

Frankfurt trounces Hamburg

Spectators in Frankfurt were treated to a high-scoring match, with the home team beating SV Hamburg 5-2.

Eintracht Frankfurt's Brazilian midfielder Caio scored 13 minutes in, while Theofanis Gekas added another point to the lead just six minutes later. Hamburg's Mladen Petric scored halfway through the first half before Gekas restored the two-point lead in stoppage time.

Petric then put one through his own net on 65 minutes after a free kick from Frankfurt, but redeemed himself a minute later by heading the ball into the correct net after a Hamburg free kick. Turkish international Halil Altintop scored Frankfurt's fifth goal three minutes to the end with a converted penalty.

"If we continue our next matches in the same form, we can achieve a lot," Altintop said.

Penalty kick problems for Leverkusen

In Moenchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen's Patrick Helmes missed a controversial penalty in the second half, but his Swiss teammate Eren Derdiyok thought he'd scored the winner when he scored in extra time.

The lead was short-lived however as Borussia Moenchengladbach striker Mohammadou Idrissou equalized two minutes later. In the resulting shoot-out, Helmes missed his second penalty kick of the game, allowing Moenchengladbach a 5-4 victory.

In the night's other matches, MSV Duisburg eased past Hallescher FC 3-0, while Nuremburg ended with the same score against SV Elversberg. Ingolstadt lost 0-1 at Hoffenheim and hosts Chemnitzer FC lost to VfB Stuttgart 1-3.

Author: Andrew Bowen (Reuters, AFP, dpa)
Editor: Joanna Impey