Werder Bremen became the first team to book their place in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal thanks to a 2-1 victory over Bundesliga rivals Hoffenheim at the Weser Stadion.

The holders confirmed their cup pedigree, despite a recent run of five straight defeats in the Bundesliga, with wonder strikes from Naldo and Hugo Almeida sealing the win. Prince Tagoe's first goal in German football had briefly restored parity for Hoffenheim, but they were not on level terms for long before Bremen re-established their advantage.

The game commenced with a thin layer of snow on the Weser Stadion pitch and, although it continued to snow throughout the match, the pitch actually improved as both teams passed the ball around confidently. Bremen had Mesut Ozil and Marko Marin combining well for the first chance of the night in the 14th minute, but the latter's shot was off target.

Naldo put Bremen ahead in the 27th minute, driving an unstoppable free-kick past Timo Hildebrand from just outside the penalty area. Hoffenheim responded and had chances to equalise through Carlos Eduardo and Vedad Ibisevic, but went in at the break a goal behind.

Bremen's regular goalkeeper Tim Wiese failed to emerge for the second half and was replaced by Christian Vander. One of his first tasks was to fish the ball out of the back of his net after Tagoe headed home Christian Eichner's cross from close range in the 73rd minute.

However, they were only level for three minutes before Hugo Almeida toe-poked a pass from Claudio Pizarro past Hildebrand and into the top corner in the blink of an eye. That goal proved to be the winner and booked Thomas Schaaf's side yet another cup semi-final after they appeared in two last season - the DFB-Pokal and the UEFA Cup.