BERLIN (AFP) - VfB Stuttgart coach Armin Veh admitted he was gutted after his side crashed out of the German Cup at the hands of second-division strugglers Carl Zeiss Jena on penalties.

The defeat leaves a huge question mark over Veh's future although it had looked as though bad-boy striker Mario Gomez had saved Stuttgart's blushes with two goals as his side came from behind to take a 2-1 lead in extra-time.

Jena striker Tobias Werner had put his side ahead with a 32nd minute header to shock the home fans in Stuttgart.

Gomez - subject to a German Football Federation (DFB) inquiry after branding Karlsruhe defender Maik Franz an "arsehole" last weekend - equalised with an 81st minute strike.

The 22-year-old, who will discover his fate on Wednesday, then scored early in extra-time, but Jena defender Robert Mueller scored in the 120th minute to take the game to penalties.

And it was Stuttgart midfielder Antonio da Silva whose penalty miss knocked his side out at the hands of Jena who are second from bottom of the second division.

"This is how bitterly cruel football can be at times," said Veh.

"That defeat was not acceptable."

Jena coach Henning Buerger said he would gladly swap the win, which puts his side in the last four, for three precious league points.

There was no such banana skin for Borussia Dortmund as Thomas Doll's side booked their semi-final berth with a 3-1 win over 1899 Hoffenheim.

After the home side established a 2-0 lead in Dortmund, Hoffenheim grabbed a consolation penalty before Croatian striker Mladen Petric scored his 14th goal of the season to make the result safe.

And with two ties to take place on Wednesday night, Bayern Munich manager Uli Hoeness says failure is not an option for the league leaders against second-division 1860 Munich at the Allianz Arena with a place in the German Cup semi-finals at stake.

The 203rd Munich derby promises to be a tough battle with bragging rights up for grabs and the game live on German television.

"There can be no excuses or an apology if we lose to a second division side, we have to win," Hoeness told German agency SID.

Also on Wednesday night in the round's only all-Bundesliga tie VfL Wolfsburg take on Hamburg with their Dutch captain Rafael van der Vaart struggling to shake off a knock from Sunday's draw with Bayern Munich in the league.