The S04 U19s have defeated 1. FC Köln. Two players who were at the professionals’ training camp scored the winning goal. No coincidence.

In the nasty drizzle of Gelsenkirchen, FC Schalke 04’s U19s beat 1. FC Köln in the A-Junior Bundesliga West on Sunday. Just like four months ago in the last 16 of the DFB Cup, Schalke coach Norbert Elgert’s team once again beat the reigning DFB Cup winners 2:1 (1:0) in front of 200 spectators at Nebenplatz 04.

Watched by Schalke’s assistant coach Mike Büskens, it was a deserved victory for S04, especially due to the second half. Two players who involuntarily dominated the headlines during the winter break played a decisive role in the match-deciding scene. Immediately after 1. FC Köln equalized to make it 1:1 through Abdul Malik Yilmaz shortly after the break, Max Grüger and Vitalie Becker scored the winner for Schalke in the 50th minute.

Six-man Max Grüger, who took all of the set-pieces, headed a corner onto the head of Niklas Barhel. He laid it off to left-back Vitalie Becker. Becker then had no trouble putting the ball into the net with his foot from close range in the penalty area.

That looked rehearsed. And it was. “We’re strong there. That was our sixth goal from a set piece,” said a delighted Norbert Elgert. “We practiced that on Saturday,” he revealed. “If it works, all the better.”

Grüger and Becker were with coach Karel Geraerts’ team at a training camp in Portugal during the winter break. According to media reports, Elgert is said to have tried to prevent at least one of the players from doing so. In the meantime, however, the successful coach had cleared up the issue and declared that he was expressly in favor of the participation.

After Cologne had put Schalke under a lot of pressure in the first half despite the loss of personnel, but were unable to prevent S04’s early 1:0 through Zaid Amaussau-Tchibara (7th), the miners had their strongest phase directly after the equalizer. “Mistakes are allowed here. The decisive factor is how you deal with them as a player and a team. And the team did a great job of that,” said Elgert, who was also pleased with the team’s reaction. “They showed good cohesion and stood up. “

This means that Schalke have moved nine points clear of 1. FC Köln and are now just one point behind Bayer Leverkusen in 3rd place with one game less to play.