FC Erzgebirge Aue have squeezed their way into the quarter-finals of the Saxon state cup. The third-division soccer club came away with a hard-fought 1:0 (0:0) win at Sachsenliga club SSV Markranstädt on Friday evening. Marcel Bär scored the winning goal in the 73rd minute at the Stadion am Bad in Markranstädt.
Aue dominated the game in the first half, but SSV sold themselves dearly. The hosts had chances to take the lead in the 11th and 25th minute. At the other end, the favorites from the Erzgebirge lacked effectiveness in attack. Even after the restart, the visitors were too harmless for long stretches. It was not until the 74th minute that Bär scored the opening goal with a well-placed shot into the right-hand corner. The match remained hard-fought against Markranstädter, who defended strongly until the end. "Our goal threat is really our shortcoming. Marcel Bär keeps getting lost because he picks up balls everywhere. That's why we've dropped too many points in the past. We'll have enough time next week to work on that," said Aue coach Pavel Dotchev.
