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Kenan Karaman: We have to perform like that again
Kenan Karaman made history in Schalke’s home game against Hannover 96 on Sunday (15/3), but after the frustrating 2-2 draw which saw all three points snatched away in the final seconds, it meant little to the Schalke captain. The strong performance did at least leave him positive about the weeks ahead.
When Kenan Karaman headed home in the 38th minute, it looked as though it would be a thoroughly successful afternoon for Schalke. The captain made it 2-0 to a Schalke side that had the game against Hannover 96 firmly under control. In the end, though, Schalke had to settle for a 2-2 draw – with one much-discussed incident shortly after the restart proving pivotal. Edin Džeko was sent off by referee Dr Robin Braun in the 52nd minute. “I saw the incident and said to the referee straight away that I felt the decision was far too harsh,” Karaman explained. His teammate had simply not seen Husseyn Chakroun. “I think a yellow card would have been more appropriate there,” he added.
S04 keep things tight even with 10 men
From that moment on, the flow of the game naturally changed. With the extra man, the visitors had more of the ball and gradually pushed the game further into Schalke’s half. Even so, S04’s defence stayed compact and allowed Christian Titz’s side very few chances.
We defended well, but we have to take responsibility for the goals we conceded – they were too easy.
It made the ending all the more painful. After referee Braun judged Nikola Katic’s challenge on Noel Aseko Nkili in the box to be a foul, Loris Karius first saved Enzo Leopold’s penalty – only for Maik Nawrocki to pull one back for Hannover from the resulting corner. Then, deep into stoppage time, Benedikt Pichler struck with the last kick of the game to make it 2-2, leaving Schalke with just a point at the VELTINS-Arena. “We defended well, but we have to take responsibility for the goals we conceded – they were too easy,” Karaman noted.
Karaman becomes Schalke’s all-time record goalscorer in the second division
His side would have deserved the win on the day, stressed the Schalke forward, who wrote his name into the club’s history books with his headed goal. It was his 37th second-division goal for FC Schalke 04, putting him out on his own at the top of that ranking, one ahead of Ingo Anderbrügge. With his two goals a few weeks ago against 1. FC Magdeburg, he had already moved past Simon Terodde. “I can be proud of that, but today I’d much rather have taken the three points,” said Karaman.
As frustrating as the way the game unfolded was for Schalke, there was still plenty to take from the performance. “If you look at the first half, Hannover are a top team and we had them completely under control,” said Karaman. “We had a really good balance between attack and defence, scored two goals and worked well at the back.”
Full trust in his teammates
Schalke will now be looking to build on that first-half performance with another tough test already on the horizon. Schalke 04 are away to SV Darmstadt 98 next Saturday (21/3), with kick-off at 20:30 CET. “We have to perform like that again,” demanded the Schalke captain. Edin Džeko’s absence after his red card in the big game away to second-placed Darmstadt is frustrating, he added, because the striker helps the team not only with his goals but also with his experience. “But of course, it’s also an opportunity for the other lads, who always give everything in training and battle hard out on the pitch as well,” said Karaman. “That’s why I’m not worried about it at all.”
