Schalke beat Schweinfurt 2-0 in German Cup

Schalke progressed to the second round of the German Cup football competition after overcoming lower league side Schweinfurt 2-0, thanks to the goals from Nabil Bentaleb and Adam Jabiri.

Fourth division side Schweinfurt gave last season's runner up Schalke a hard time but Nabil Bentaleb's opener and Adam Jabiri's own goal smoothed the way for the expected but hard earned victory on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Schalke assumed control from the kick off and were able to threaten the hosts through Guido Burgstaller, who pulled wide from close range in the 7th minute.

As the match progressed Schalke lacked in ideas to overcome Schweinfurt's well-positioned defence.

Hence, the Bundesliga side had to wait until the 24th minute before Schweinfurt's Arne Aarnink felled Amine Harit inside the box to cause a foul play penalty. Nabil Bentaleb stepped up and converted the penalty into the bottom left corner to open the scoring.

Schweinfurt kept Schalke at a distance but failed to pose any threat within the first 45 minutes.

After the restart, Domenico Tedesco's men were in full control of the proceedings on the pitch, still they were only able to establish a narrow 1-0 lead.

Things changed in the 75th minute when Schalke sealed the deal as Adam Jabiri deflected Matija Nastsic's header into his own goal to make it 2-0 on the scoreboard.

Elsewhere, second division side Darmstadt edged Magdeburg on the sole goal from Tobias Kempe; meanwhile third division club Wehen Wiesbaden eliminated second division side St. Pauli 3-2 in overtime.

--IANS

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