After the embarrassing defeat against SV Elversberg, Schalke coach Karel Geraerts and Kenan Karaman were clear.

It was only his second home game as coach of FC Schalke 04, but when the game against SV Elversberg came to an end, Karel Geraerts saw something historic: While his players received wild whistles after the embarrassing 2:1 (1:2) defeat, the Elversberg players from the small village of 12,700 inhabitants celebrated the biggest evening in their club’s history.

Schalke experienced the next low point in a never-ending series of low points, and Geraerts took his team to task. “Today, only one, two or three players were at an acceptable level. Then it’s impossible to win games. Losing games, I can accept that. But not in this way. That’s why I’m very annoyed,” said the 41-year-old coach.

Geraerts was particularly annoyed by the performance in the first 30 minutes – Elversberg had taken the lead through Paul Stock (7th) and Jannik Rochelt (21st). Both were as little troubled as an autumn walk.

“We lacked respect for our opponent. We weren’t ready to play soccer against Elversberg. The intensity was lacking and we weren’t good enough in the tackles either. That was clear to see,” scolded Geraerts. But not without self-criticism: “I’m responsible for what the team shows, so I’m the first to look in the mirror. I hope the players do the same.”

Schalke’s best player was Kenan Karaman – he reduced the deficit to 1:2 with a header in the 35th minute, shot eight times at the opposing goal and continued to play despite bleeding from a collision and wearing a royal blue turban from then on. “We’re at a point where everyone has to ask themselves whether they gave their all today,” Karaman sighed in frustration. “We actually had a lot of confidence. It’s difficult to explain why we started the first 30 minutes like that. “

The first half hour was shocking – but so was the fact that the Royal Blues had nothing more to add in the final phase. Even in the eight minutes of stoppage time, Schalke were no longer dangerous in front of the Elversberg goal – some of the 61,110 spectators left the stadium early. Geraerts’ analysis was clear: “We lacked belief. From the first minute we didn’t believe we could win, after the first goal we didn’t believe we could equalize. That was the biggest difference between the two teams.”

As clearly as Geraerts addressed the mistakes, Elversberg coach Horst Steffen quietly enjoyed the coup in the arena. “It was a great game, a great experience for our team and the club. What the lads put in was remarkable. We have 21 points, which is great for us,” said Steffen modestly. Elversberg have leapfrogged Schalke in the table. Who would have thought that two years ago?