First point for Schalke under coach Kees van Wonderen – but the discussions are unlikely to die down after the 0-0 draw in Ulm.

Amin Younes could have turned the game on its head two minutes before the end. The former national player had come on as a substitute shortly before to liven up FC Schalke 04’s abysmal attacking play – but Younes missed twice from inside the penalty area, failing to get past the SSV Ulm 1846 defense. The second division basement battle ended 0-0, a point that the brave newcomers deserved much more than Schalke.

The game was not pretty to watch, with the Royal Blues lacking everything in attack except for Younes’ double chance. In his fourth game, it was the first point for coach Kees van Wonderen, who has come under criticism, thanks to help from his own crossbar and goalkeeper Justin Heekeren.

Schalke’s poor performance is unlikely to silence the discussions surrounding the 55-year-old.

Compared to the 0-3 defeat in the DFB Cup against Bundesliga side FC Augsburg three days earlier, van Wonderen had Lino Tempelmann, Amin Younes, and Ron Schallenberg back at his disposal, but the trio initially remained on the bench. He made only one change to his team: Paul Seguin, who was rested in Augsburg and therefore only came on as a substitute, started in midfield in place of Anton Donkor.

Schalke opts for safety tactics against Ulm

Schalke went into the basement battle with the same safety-first tactics as in the DFB Cup. Ulm also appeared respectful at the start, with their coach Thomas Wörle describing it as “brilliant” that Germany’s third-largest club had come to Ulm for a league match. It was Ulm’s Maurice Krattenmacher who ended the tentative play on the pitch and thundered the ball against the Schalke crossbar in the 15th minute. Heekeren was lucky in this scene.

It was a shot that woke the Royal Blues up. Fifteen decent minutes of offense followed. Van Wonderen’s offensive plan was to send lots of crosses into the penalty area – there were 13 before the break alone. Mehmet Can Aydin had the best chance, but he was caught off guard by a cross from Derry John Murkin and sent the ball past the goal with his shoulder. Further shots on goal from Max Grüger (21′) and Taylan Bulut (24′) were blocked for corners. Yes, it was a dominant phase, the likes of which had not been seen under van Wonderen before. But Schalke looked far too clumsy. There was only one Schalke player on the field who had his strengths in and around the penalty area. But captain Kenan Karaman is struggling to find his form.

Ulm confidently broke out of Schalke’s brief but chance-less spell of pressure, and the lively Krattenmacher, who had caused Schalke’s talented full-back Taylan Bulut a few problems, had his second big chance in the 38th minute: this time, his powerful shot was saved by Heekeren. Three minutes later, Heekeren would have been beaten by a shot from Felix Higl, but Murkin blocked the ball at the last moment. At half-time, the score remained 0-0 in a second division match that was, as expected, not of the highest quality. The most positive takeaways for Schalke were that the defense held firm and that the 2,000 fans who had traveled to the game set the tone among the 17,400 spectators.

Three days earlier in Augsburg, Schalke had turned the game around in the second half, mainly because they had listened to their passionate fans. They continued to cheer relentlessly, but their team couldn’t keep up. A few seconds into the second half, Schalke already looked as if they would be quite satisfied if they could hold on to the 0-0 draw. They couldn’t manage any relief attacks, and the number of misplaced passes in the opponent’s half was very high.

Ulm were slow to sense their chance to take not just one but three points in their home game against the mighty FC Schalke. And they repeatedly brought their best player into the spotlight: Maurice Krattenmacher. He had the best chance to put Ulm ahead in the 59th minute. Once again, he was denied by Heekeren, who was collecting points in the battle for the starting spot in the Schalke goal. Schalke’s offensive attempts were horror football on the day after Halloween – until Younes suddenly had the winning goal at his feet two minutes before the end.