1-1 draw at home to Holstein Kiel

Terodde returns and a first start of the season for Sané

Simon Terodde made his return from a calf injury against Holstein Kiel. S04’s top goalscorer had missed the last four games before the winter break and started up front together with Darko Churlinov. Salif Sané began a game for the first time this season as part of the back-three.

The Royal Blues were without Marcin Kaminski (Covid-19), Mehmet Can Aydin (thigh injury), Michael Langer and Marc Rzatkowski (rehabilitation training), as well as the suspended Marvin Pieringer. New signings Marius Lode and Andreas Vindheim were in the squad for the first time after joining the club this week.

S04 dominant without scoring

The action didn’t take long to get going, with Schalke getting forward early on in the game. The deadlock was almost broken after just five minutes by the returning Simon Terodde. Victor Pálsson’s low cross was diverted onto Simon Terodde’s thigh by the goalkeeper and then struck the bar, though it may have been ruled out anyway with Pálsson close to being in an offside position. Shortly before that chance, the 750 fans at the VELTINS-Arena witnessed a mix-up between Malick Thiaw and Martin Fraisl at the back. Thankfully though, Thiaw was able to get back and clear the ball off the line (3’).

Aside from that nervy moment, Kiel rarely threatened Schalke’s goal in the first half. The hosts dominated the midfield and were able to keep the visitors away from their own box. After 14 minutes, Terodde played a ball to Blendi Idrizi, who looked to square it across the goal for Darko Churlinov. His pass, however, was cleared before it could reach the attacker.

Following a quiet 15 minutes or so, Salif Sané took things into his own hands and pulled the trigger from distance (34’). The defender’s powerful strike was tipped wide well by Thomas Dähne in the Kiel goal. Schalke’s final notable chance of the first half saw Darko Churlinov miss the target on the turn (41’). At the other end, Martin Fraisl had to be on his toes from a long-range free-kick. Mikkel Kirkeskov looked to catch him out with a near-post effort, but the Austrian got across his goal to fish it out in time (45’).

Terodde equalises

Schalke looked to build up the pressure again at the start of the second period and Kiel let the home side control the play, looking to be dangerous on the break themselves. One example of that was in the 54th minute when Philipp Sander got into the S04 box from a counter-attack, only to be stopped by a strong Victor Pálsson tackle.

Despite having more of the ball, Schalke couldn’t really test out Thomas Dähne regularly after the break. Their frustration was then compounded by a Kiel goal seemingly out of nowhere. Alexander Mühling’s half-volley from the edge of the box flew past Fraisl, leaving him with no chance (67’). Grammozis’ team didn’t take long to find an answer though. A super through ball by Pálsson found Terodde, and he struck it through the legs of the Kiel goalkeeper for the leveller (73’).

With 10 minutes to play, Julian Korb had a good chance for Kiel. The winger’s shot at the back post was kept out by a strong piece of goalkeeping by Fraisl. The Austrian then beat away Fin Bartels’ powerful hit to keep the scores level (87’). There was also time for one more opportunity for the Knappen, albeit an unsuccessful one. Ko Itakura’s near-post header from an Ouwejan corner was pushed away from danger by Dähne.

Saturday night in Aue

Schalke’s next fixture is an away game at FC Erzgebirge Aue on Saturday (22/1) at 20:30 CET. The reverse fixture ended 1-1 at the VELTINS-Arena.