BERLIN, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Yuya Osako's second-half volley hammer helped Werder Bremen to move 1-0 past second-division outfit Jahn Regensburg in the German Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Top-flight Werder Bremen took the reins from the starting whistle and pressed hosts Regensburg onto the back foot.
Although the "Green-Whites" controlled the proceedings on the pitch, they got only two clear chances in the first 45 minutes. Milot Rashica tested Regensburg goalkeeper Alexander Meyer from the edge of the box in the 26th minute before Kevin Mohwald pulled a free kick just wide in the dying seconds of the first half.
Regensburg staged a cautious performance, so Bremen goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka wasn't challenged at all.
After the restart, both sides increased the pace as Rashica's shot missed the target seconds into the second half, while Regensburg's Andreas Albers hit the side netting from inside the box moments later.
Bremen eventually broke the deadlock with 52 minutes gone when Marco Friedl's long ball found Osako, who chested the ball before volleying the opener into the bottom left corner.
Werder gained momentum and should have made it two, but for all that, Osako failed to beat Meyer from promising position in the 67th minute.
A resilient Regensburg kept it bowling and almost shocked the visitors in the closing stages, but Albers' two efforts in quick succession got defused on the goal line.
Bremen had the opportunity to put the result beyond doubt ahead of the final whistle, but substitute Felix Agu failed to finish the job following a counterattack in injury time.
Bremen will encounter league rivals Leipzig in the semifinals on April 30.
"We played very well for most of the time. A one-goal advantage is always very dangerous though. It wasn't our best performance but at the end of the day it is important that we advanced," said Werder Bremen head coach Florian Kohfeldt.
"We had too much respect in the first half. I think we played Okay but my team wasn't good enough to beat Bremen today," said Jahn Regensburg head coach Mersad Selimbegovic. Enditem
