Klose clinches Bayern's cup final date

BERLIN, Germany -- Miroslav Klose scored his 20th goal for Bayern Munich to book his side's place in next month's German Cup final after Wednesday night's 2-0 semi-final win over VfL Wolfsburg.

Klose, 29, added Bayern's second from close-range in the 66th minute after French midfielder Franck Ribery had broken the dead-lock on the hour mark to put Bayern just one win away from lifting the cup for the 14th time.

The top scorer at the 2006 World Cup, Klose is set to shine in June's Euro 2008 tournament after showing his poachers instinct to book Bayern's final spot against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday April 19 in Berlin.

The win was good news for Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld as his side bounced back after UEFA Cup home defeat by Anderlecht -- they still qualified -- followed by the humiliation of the 2-0 league defeat at strugglers Energie Cottbus last weekend.

There were changes after the debacle in Cottbus with Italian World Cup winner Toni rested and Germany striker Lukas Podolski given his chance up front alongside Klose up front.

Bayern got off to a bright start as early as the second minute when Ribery found himself behind the Wolfsburg defence, but his header trickled wide.

Both Klose and Podolski squandered chances early on, but Ribery got the all important break-through just before the hour mark.

With the Wolfsburg defence closing in, Klose slid a pass to Ribery who unleashed his shot and ricocheted off the legs off goalkeeper Diego Benaglio into the back of the net.

And Klose added the second on 66 minutes when he followed up Marcell Jansen's shot and stabbed the ball home for his 20th goal for Bayern in all competitions.

Since his switch from Werder Bremen last summer, Klose now has ten Bundesliga goals to his name, plus five in both the UEFA Cup and German Cup - but still lags behind top-scorer Luca Toni who has 24 goals for Bayern this season. E-mail to a friend