Christopher Antwi-Adjei: It’s good that Kenan was stood in the right spot

It was as if they had pulled off the move many times before. In the closing stages, Christopher Antwi-Adjei crossed the ball from the byline on the right flank into the six-yard box, where Kenan Karaman nodded it into the near corner. In actuality, Antwi-Adjei had only been at Schalke for two days and the attack was one of his first ever touches in an S04 shirt.

“Go out there and give it your all!” That’s what head coach Karel Geraerts had said to the winger shortly before his introduction, and he certainly obliged. “I spotted a teammate in the middle,” said Antwi-Adjei afterwards, describing the moment before his assist. “It’s good that Kenan was stood in the right spot and we were at least able to rescue something from the game.”

It had been a busy few days, culminating his first competitive match for the Royal Blues had been preceded by. “I didn’t get to prepare as normal, but the lads took me on board quickly and then the coach asked me the day before the game whether I felt good and whether I was ready to play.” The 30-year-old now wants to focus on gradually getting back to competitive match sharpness. “I hope it won’t take me long and I’ll try my hardest in order to be able to play games for Schalke.”

Captain Kenan Karaman already has a plethora of Schalke matches under his belt, including duller ones than the 2-2 draw in Magdeburg too. “With a bit of luck, we might have been able to grab a third goal at the end, but on balance the draw is fair,” concluded the 30-year-old. “We were able to put Magdeburg under pressure early on and scored a classy goal, but then we basically gifted them the equaliser to make it 1-1, getting Magdeburg right back in the game and then they got their second goal.”

However, letting their heads drop at the break was not an option. “We decided to keep pressing high and were sure that we would get our chances.” The striker also saw the substitutions as key. “Right away, Anton and Amin took over the game and Christopher is a very experienced player who was able to show his quality from the off with that cross for the equaliser.”

The captain is content for the most part with the start to the season, with this most recent draw following on from the opening day win against Braunschweig and the defeat in Nuremberg. “We can’t be satisfied, because we want to win every game. The game in Nuremberg we have to take with a pinch of salt because of how things went, so it’s a solid start. And a point away from home is also important for us.”