Goalkeeper Frank Rost blocked three penalty attempts and converted the winner himself Tuesday, lifting Schalke 04 past Werder Bremen and into the German Cup final.
In one of the most dramatic German Cup matches in memory, Schalke prevailed in the penalty shootout 5-4 after a 2-2 extra-time draw.
Rost blocked the attempt of Bremen's Fabian Ernst, who slipped on his attempt, then waved away a teammate before taking a shot himself.
The occasional German national team keeper calmly stroked a slow shot into the right corner, sparking an eruption of joy by his teammates.
"This was an unbelievable game -- I think the spectators should be delighted," Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick said.
"Somebody had to win sometime."
With the shootout score 3-3, Ailton had a chance to win the game for Schalke but his attempt struck the crossbar.
The Brazilian had tied the match in the 96th minute with a rising shot between three defenders, equalizing two minutes after Tim Borowski put Bremen ahead 2-1.
Danish striker Ebbe Sand gave Schalke the lead in the 64th minute, sending the 61,000 fans at Auf Schalke Arena into a frenzy.
Valerien Ismael replied for Bremen in the 84th, requiring an extra period.
Ailton's goal to 2-2 capped a furious stretch of three goals in 12 minutes.
During that period, another Bremen goal was ruled offside and Ailton put another attempt off the right post.
Both teams played at a furious pace from the start, trying to salvage disappointing seasons.
Schalke was trying to wipe away Saturday's frustrating loss to Hamburger SV -- one that left the club six points behind league-leading Bayern Munich and seemingly dooming its title chances.
"This win was very important to us to keep our motivation up," Rangnick said.
Schalke's players were criticized all week in the German media as ``chokers'' who couldn't handle the title pressure.
Bremen, the Bundesliga's defending champions, have slipped to fourth and were thrashed by Lyon to be eliminated from the European Champions League.
Bolton missed a chance to move into fourth place -- the final Champions League berth in England -- with a 1-1 draw Tuesday against Southampton in the Premier League.
Also, Middlesbrough scored late in a 1-1 draw with Fulham, equalizing on a controversial injury-time penalty by Boudewijn Zenden.
One of England's least glamorous teams, Bolton took a 1-0 lead on Stelios Giannakopoulos' 25th-minute goal. A victory would have moved Bolton into fourth, but Southampton's Kevin Phillips equalized in the 69th on a half-volley that beat Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.
It was Phillips' third goal in four games.
Bolton stayed in fifth place with 53 points, trailing leader Chelsea, which has 81. Arsenal has 71 points, followed by Manchester United with 67 and Everton with 54. Liverpool is in sixth with 51.
In the battle for fourth place, Everton has played two fewer games than Bolton.
Southampton moved out of relegation with 28 points, the same as West Brom. Southampton has a better goal difference, but has played two more games than the Baggies.
'Boro got a point it probably didn't deserve in its 1-1 draw with Fulham.
Fulham outplayed Middlesbrough for the entire game, with US striker Brian McBride scoring in the 82nd for a 1-0 lead.
But 'Boro equalized in second-half injury time on a disputed penalty. Referee Rob Styles awarded the penalty when Fulham 'keeper Edwin van der Sar was called from tripping Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. A TV replay showed the foul occurred out of the area, and Fulham manager Chris Coleman disputed that it was a foul at all.
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