The U19 team of FC Schalke 04 was able to beat 1. FSV Mainz 05 5:3 in the round of 16 of the German FA Cup for juniors. Coach Norbert Elgert was very satisfied with the performance.

The Park Stadium in Gelsenkirchen was the scene of a real goal fest in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup for juniors. The FC Schalke 04 U19 team won 5-3 against 1. FSV Mainz 05. Ayman Emran Gulasi scored twice, while Zaid Amoussou-Tchibara scored a hat trick.

The 4-1 lead at half-time was impressive, especially after the Royal Blues fell behind 1-0 after just two minutes: “Of course, we went behind early on, which was completely unplanned. But then the team’s reaction was fantastic. Of course, you need a bit of luck to equalize so quickly, but our first half was almost brilliant overall,” said a satisfied Schalke coach Norbert Elgert after the game.

After quickly equalizing, Schalke dominated the game at will: ”We played really good football, moved the ball well and played nice counterattacks. We also defended very well against Mainz’s strengths.”

Then you actually think you’ve got it. But I never think like that. Only when the final whistle blows am I sure that we won the game

Norbert Elgert

With the score at 4:1 at half-time, the game seemed almost over, but Elgert knew that the second half would not be a sure thing: “Then you go into half-time with a 4:1 lead, but you know that in football you still haven’t won, especially in a cup game.”

The mistake that led to the 2-4 was annoying for the head coach, but he also emphasized that no one gets “ripped apart for something like that, provided they learn from it”. His boys’ reaction to that was to score the 5-1.

“Then you actually think you’ve got it. But I never think like that. Only when the final whistle blows will I be sure that we’ve won the game,” he added.

Overall, however, Elgert was very satisfied with the performance of his players, even if the individual mistakes before the second and third goals against did cause a little unnecessary tension.

Elgert praises mentality

When asked whether a game like this speaks to the mental strength of his team, Elgert replied, “Today, yes. Let’s see how it is in the future, because football is always a day-to-day business. I hope we don’t fall behind so often, but if we confirm this in the future, then it would be a stereotype, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

The next game is not scheduled for another two weeks, when the “Knights” have to travel to arch-rivals Dortmund. In the meantime, several players are on international duty. The Royal Blue U19s will also be playing a friendly against AZ Alkmaar (Sunday, October 13, 1 p.m.).