Justin Heekeren made his debut in goal for FC Schalke 04’s U23s in their opening win against SV Straelen. The coach praised him and the team.

FC Schalke 04’s U23s have made a successful start to the new season. In the first competitive match after the summer break, the team of S04 coach Jakob Fimpel defeated SV Straelen 1:0.

Even almost a complete half in a reduced number of players, after Verthomy Boboy was sent off with red in the 48th minute of the game, did not change anything. “I hardly noticed it myself. Apparently there was a referee’s dressing down and then the red card. I spoke to Thomy. He said that he said something different than what will probably be in the match report in the end. It’s happened now and you can’t undo it,” Fimpel said after the game about the sending-off.

Schalkes U23 coach Fimpel praises: “Great team performance “

Even though the red card turned the Knappen’s system of play on its head, SV Straelen ultimately failed to get in front of the Royal Blue goal dangerously enough: “When you play shorthanded, you have to change your whole game from one moment to the next. You have to change from own possession and ‘play football’ to ‘work football’. But the way the strong players, who were not afraid to do anything, fought until the end, that was good. Apart from a few shots from distance, we didn’t allow anything. If you work like we did, you deserved to win in the end. It was just a great team performance on the first day of the game,” Fimpel said happily.

Justin Heekeren, who moved to Gelsenkirchen from Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and made his debut in the Schalke goal against Straelen, also had reason to be happy: “We are basically here to give a player from the professional team practice if he needs it,” Fimpel explained. Sidi Sané, who like Heekeren played the preparation with the professional team, also played like that. “Both did a great job,” Fimpel praised Heekeren and Sané.

Also on the pitch was Tim Albutat, who made his comeback after a long injury break and more than 15 months without a competitive match: “He is a very important player for us. In the end, it was an advantage that he could give the boys security with his experience. Especially after a situation like the red card,” Fimpel explained.