Huge disappointment in the arena: Schalke 04 lost their second division home game against village club SV Elversberg 1-2 (1-2).
Almost exactly a year ago, FC Bayern was the guest at the arena, with Bundesliga points at stake – but now FC Schalke 04 has hit a new low.
The Royal Blues lost their home game in the 2nd Bundesliga against village club SV Elversberg 1-2 (1-2). The mini winning streak has come to an abrupt end, and the focus is back on the bottom of the table.
Schalke coach Karel Geraerts had opted for the “never change a winning team” strategy – the same eleven that had won 2-1 in Nuremberg a week ago were to defeat Elversberg.
But during the warm-up, goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann was injured – again. Justin Heekeren came on at short notice for his second appearance of the season.
Schalke keeper Fährmann has to pull out at short notice
Was it Fährmann’s injury that caused Schalke’s players to limp across the pitch at half strength in front of 61,110 spectators in the first half hour? Or was it the feeling that they could easily blow the small village club out of the arena? No one could really explain what the Schalke team, which had fought so bravely recently, was doing.
The visitors, who played against VfB Stuttgart’s U23 team in front of 185 spectators in the regional league almost exactly two years ago, combined without resistance through the Schalke defense. Paul Stock (7th) and Jannik Rochelt (21st) scored two goals to give their team a deserved 2-0 lead. And the visitors were closer to scoring a third goal than Schalke were to scoring their first.
It took a burst of speed from center back Derry John Murkin, who stormed from the back to the front with the ball at his feet in the 29th minute and won a corner, to wake everyone up: his teammates, the fans, the bench. After that, Schalke showed how they should have played from the start: courageous, determined, clinical.
The lively Kenan Karaman reduced the deficit to 1-2 in the 35th minute after a corner from Thomas Ouwejan and had two more chances (38th/40th). Henning Matriciani (30′) and Bryan Lasme (41′) could also have scored. When referee Martin Petersen blew the whistle for half-time, the fans didn’t know whether to boo or applaud after a mixed first half.
Lasme and Karaman miss chances
After the break, Schalke remained the dominant team and had some very good chances to equalize: Lasme hit the crossbar (58th minute), and Karaman’s header was saved by the superb Nicolas Kristof (60th minute). Every corner and every cross from Ouwejan was dangerous.
But the closer the game got to the end, the harder it became for Schalke to catch up, and the gaps for the visitors to counterattack grew larger. Even eight minutes of added time didn’t help Schalke, and the evening that had started so euphorically ended in huge disappointment.