S04 win 3-2 at home against Hannover 96

Six changes

S04 once again set up with a 3-5-2 formation. Kenan Karaman returned from his red-card suspension to start up front instead of Simon Terodde. The other five changes saw Derry John Murkin, Tobias Mohr, Henning Matriciani, Dominick Drexler and Ron Schallenberg replace Timo Baumgartl, Thomas Ouwejan, Yusuf Kabadayi, Assan Ouédraogo (all bench) and Paul Seguin (stomach bug).

Lasme opens the scoring just before the break

Schalke got stuck in right from the first whistle and looked to win the ball quickly early on. This approach resulted in the first chance of the game, as Lino Tempelmann regained the ball on the edge of Hannover’s box and passed to Kenan Karaman. He played a perfectly timed pass behind the 96 defence to Bryan Lasme, who attempted to slip it past Ron-Robert Zieler. The 2014 World Cup winner was able to get in the way of the shot though (8’).

The visitors improved after the first quarter of an hour and could have gone ahead after 18 minutes. Marcel Halstenberg headed a Leopold corner wide from a good position. Two minutes later, Ralf Fährmann was called into action for the first time, pushing a Cedric Teuchert shot from a tight angle clear, which Tobias Mohr then cleared to safety.

Hannover had the ball in the back of the net with an hour played, however the goal did not stand. Lino Tempelmann had been fouled just before the ball fell to Fabian Kunze, who then beat Fährmann from distance via the inside of the post. Referee Timo Gerach had already blown up before the shot was taken.

The first half was interrupted by a number of free-kicks the referee was forced to award. One such example came in the 41st minute, which saw Andreas Voglsammer penalised for a challenge on Dominick Drexler. The resulting free-kick, taken by Marcin Kaminski, led to the opening goal. Drexler gave it to Henning Matriciani on the right and he crossed for Kenan Karaman. In an aerial battle with defender Halstenberg, the ball was flicked on and fell for Bryan Lasme, who powerfully volleyed it home to give S04 the lead at the break!

Late penalty serves for a nervy ending

The first opportunity of the second half also belonged to the Knappen. Dominick Drexler couldn’t get enough on his header from a Mohr free-kick to trouble Zieler (49’). Shortly afterwards, the away team got back on level terms. Derrick Köhn won the ball from Henning Matriciani on the wing and played it into the middle for Enzo Leopold. Hannover’s number 8 had plenty of time to then pick out the bottom corner for 1-1 (52’).

S04 came close to immediately regaining the lead, courtesy of some fine work by Tobias Mohr. He slid in to win the ball back and played it towards the near post, aiming for Bryan Lasme. He threw himself towards the ball, but as did defender Bright Akwo Arrey Mbi, who managed to clear it for a corner (56’). At the other end, Andreas Voglsammer attempted to flick a ball from Dehm home, only to hit the side-netting (59’).

Schalke went ahead again with 72 minutes played. Lino Tempelmann placed a shot past Zieler from a central position outside the area, with the assist provided by substitute Assan Ouédraogo. Things got even better for the home faithful five minutes later. After some pressing from Derry John Murkin in midfield, the ball ricocheted through to Kenan Karaman and he slotted it past Zieler for 3-1.

The Royal Blues had to endure a nervy final few minutes after Hannover got one back from the spot just before the end. Ralf Fährmann was the guilty party for a foul on Voglsammer. Marcel Halstenberg sent S04’s keeper the wrong way with his penalty. Nevertheless, the S04 defence remained compact until the final whistle and held on for an important three points.

Two away games next week

Karel Geraerts’ side are next in action on Tuesday night (31/10) in the DFB-Pokal. The Royal Blues are away at fellow 2. Bundesliga club FC St. Pauli, with kick off at 18:00 CET. Four days later, S04 are on the road again, this time against friends Nürnberg (4/11, 13:00 CET)