STUTTGART, Germany, April 23 (Reuters) – German Cup holders VfB Stuttgart are back in the final after a late extra-time goal from Tiago Tomas earned the hosts a 2-1 win over Freiburg on Thursday to set up a decider with Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Stuttgart came from behind to force the extra period and with penalties beckoning two substitutes combined as Tomas got to a Badredine Bouanani cross ahead of his marker to score with one minute left.
Four-time winners Stuttgart, who beat Arminia Bielefeld in last year’s final, will meet Bayern in Berlin on May 23 after the newly crowned league winners beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 in Wednesday’s semi-final.
The visitors took the lead in the 28th minute, Maximilian Eggestein getting his foot on the end of Matthias Ginter’s header to poke the ball past keeper Alexander Nuebel.
The goal came from a cheaply conceded corner kick, with Stuttgart defender Angelo Stiller misplacing a long pass back to Nuebel.
The hosts had opportunities to level before the break. Ermedin Demirovic sent a half-volley too high from a great position in the box and Jamie Leweling’s low strike went just wide of the far post.
Stuttgart came close early in the second half when Stiller’s close-range effort after a scramble in the box was stopped on the line by Freiburg goalkeeper Florian Mueller.
Minutes later the home fans were celebrating when Stiller had the ball in the net but the flag went up for an offside in the build-up.
The equaliser came with 20 minutes left from a quick counter, Bilal El Khannouss driving forward in possession before laying a pass off for Deniz Undav who struck a first-time shot into the far bottom corner.
Undav had a deflected shot hit the upright late on, and Mueller made two excellent saves to deny Chris Fuehrich and Undav to take the tie to extra time, where Fuehrich also hit the post before Tomas’s last gasp winner.
Freiburg’s bid to win a first-ever major trophy now rests on the Europa League where they take on Portuguese club Braga in the last four.
(Reporting by Trevor StynesEditing by Christian Radnedge)
