Lacklustre Bayern struggle to beat fourth-division club

Soccer Football - DFB Cup Second Round - SV Roedinghausen v Bayern Munich - Stadion an der Bremer Brucke, Osnabruck, Germany - October 30, 2018 Bayern Munich's Rafinha in action with SV Roedinghausen's Joy-Slayd Mickels REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler

BERLIN (Reuters) - Champions Bayern Munich were made to work hard before edging amateurs SV Roedinghausen 2-1 on Tuesday to advance to the German Cup third round.

Missing half a dozen players through illness or injury, Bayern were far from their best against their fourth-division opponents on a rainy and cold evening in east Westphalia and had to endure a nervous finale before booking their spot in the next round.

Quick goals from Sandro Wagner in the eighth minute and Thomas Mueller, who scored with a penalty five minutes later, put the visitors in the driving seat.

Soccer Football - DFB Cup Second Round - SV Roedinghausen v Bayern Munich - Stadion an der Bremer Brucke, Osnabruck, Germany - October 30, 2018 SV Roedinghausen's Linus Meyer celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler

Bayern, second in the Bundesliga, were awarded a second spot kick in the 22nd minute but Renato Sanches' effort bounced off the crossbar.

The hosts cut the deficit four minutes after the restart with Linus Meyer beating Rafinha to connect with a cross as the home crowd erupted in wild celebrations.

Franck Ribery had a rare chance in the second half but his low drive was palmed wide by keeper Niclas Heimann as Bayern took their foot completely off the gas and looked short of ideas and Roedinghausen pressed for an equaliser.

Soccer Football - DFB Cup Second Round - SV Roedinghausen v Bayern Munich - Stadion an der Bremer Brucke, Osnabruck, Germany - October 30, 2018 Bayern Munich's Serge Gnabry in action REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler

The Bavarians, who have now won four matches in all competitions after a four-game winless run, may have to make do without Thiago Alcantara in the coming matches after the Spaniard suffered a leg injury.

Fellow Bundesliga clubs Hertha Berlin and VfL Wolfsburg also advanced by beating Darmstadt 98 and Hanover 96 2-0 respectively.

Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund host second tier Union Berlin on Wednesday.

Soccer Football - DFB Cup - SV Roedinghausen v Bayern Munich - Stadion an der Bremer Brucke, Osnabruck, Germany - October 30, 2018 Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller scores their second goal from the penalty spot REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

Soccer Football - DFB Cup Second Round - SV Roedinghausen v Bayern Munich - Stadion an der Bremer Brucke, Osnabruck, Germany - October 30, 2018 Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery in action REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler

Soccer Football - DFB Cup - SV Roedinghausen v Bayern Munich - Stadion an der Bremer Brucke, Osnabruck, Germany - October 30, 2018 SV Roedinghausen's Simon Engelmann in action with Bayern Munich's Thiago REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler

Soccer Football - DFB Cup - SV Roedinghausen v Bayern Munich - Stadion an der Bremer Brucke, Osnabruck, Germany - October 30, 2018 Bayern Munich's Renato Sanches misses a penalty REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler

Soccer Football - DFB Cup Second Round - SV Roedinghausen v Bayern Munich - Stadion an der Bremer Brucke, Osnabruck, Germany - October 30, 2018 SV Roedinghausen's Linus Meyer celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler

Soccer Football - DFB Cup Second Round - SV Roedinghausen v Bayern Munich - Stadion an der Bremer Brucke, Osnabruck, Germany - October 30, 2018 Bayern Munich's Leon Goretzka in action REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler