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S04 beaten 1-0 at home by Holstein Kiel
FC Schalke 04 suffered a 1-0 defeat at home against Holstein Kiel on Saturday (13/9). Alexander Bernhardsson’s goal, courtesy of a Timo Becker deflection, secured all three points for the visitors at a sold-out VELTINS-Arena.
Christian Gomis makes his debut
Head coach Miron Muslic made three changes to the team that won 1-0 at Dynamo Dresden in the Knappen’s last league game. Felipe Sanchez replaced Hasan Kuruçay in defence, while Moussa Sylla came in for the injured Emil Højlund (heel issue) up front. New signing Christian Gomis was handed his Schalke debut, taking Janik Bachmann’s (bench) place in the XI.
Sylla with S04’s first chance – Becker deflects Kiel shot into his own net
The 62,079 fans at the VELTINS-Arena included Susanne, the club’s 200,000th member. Susanne appeared on the screens of the video cube above the pitch just before kick-off, serving as a representative of all the members of the Royal Blue family who have taken steps to express their loyalty and connection to the club in the form of an official membership.
Susanne and her fellow Knappen were out of their seats in just the second minute as Moussa Sylla raced in behind after a pass from Christian Gomis. The S04 forward took too long to get a shot away and then saw defender David Zec get back to slide the ball away from him. Schalke looked to dictate the play early on but soon trailed after just six minutes. Adrian Kapralik played a ball through to Alexander Bernhardsson in the middle. He shot from around 10 yards out and Timo Becker threw himself at the ball to block it but only succeeded in deflecting it up in the air and over Loris Karius and into the back of the net.
Kiel goalkeeper Krumrey stops S04 from drawing level
Following the Kiel goal, the first half was an even affair played at a high intensity. Both goalkeepers were initially not tested until the final 15 minutes before the break, a period dominated by Schalke.
Ron Schallenberg won a header on the edge of Holstein’s box in the 30th minute, from which Moussa Sylla volleyed towards goal on the turn. He didn’t get enough on his strike to trouble goalkeeper Jonas Krumrey. Two minutes later, Schallenberg played a ball in behind for Sylla, whose attempt was punched wide for a corner by Krumrey. This set piece resulted in S04’s next opportunity: Felipe Sanchez’s shot was deflected into the path of Christian Gomis. He did well to find space on the right side of the box and got his shot away from a tight angle, but Krumrey got his body in the way to deny the debutant (33’).
The Royal Blues failed to create any more decent opportunities in the remainder of the first half, and, in the third minute of injury time, the visitors almost doubled their lead. John Tolkin got to the byline and cut it back for Steven Skrzybski, whose shot then landed at the feet of Marcus Müller. The forward, taken by surprise a little bit, couldn’t divert it past Loris Karius from close range (45’+3).
Johansson hits the bar
Kiel had the first opportunity after the interval, with Carl Johansson’s header from a corner hitting the bar (47’). Despite that, the Knappen remained the better of the two sides. A Finn Porath corner in the 53rd minute saw Moussa Sylla head the ball back across the box, but none of his teammates could get on the end of it.
While Schalke played with a high line and pressed the away team, the Storks sat back and waited for opportunities to break. Despite the majority of the game being played in Kiel’s half, Schalke were rarely able to test Jonas Krumrey. Substitute Adrian Gantenbein played a pass to Vitalie Becker in the 72nd minute, however the left-back fired well over from distance. A few moments later, Phil Harres tried his luck from an awkward angle, forcing Loris Karius to parry his shot over the bar.
Gantenbein and Antwi-Adjei with the final chances to equalise
Schalke gave their all in the closing stages to salvage something from the game. Moussa Sylla diverted a header towards goal in the 88th minute, however it was an easy catch in the end for Jonas Krumrey.
Seven minutes of injury time provided S04 a final opportunity to score, though Kiel almost sealed the win immediately through Jonas Therkelsen. He dribbled past a number of defenders in the box before Karius could dispossess him. At the other end, Adrian Gantenbein’s shot in the box was blocked and then Christopher Antwi-Adjei’s effort went wide (90’+3), consigning Schalke to a first defeat at home of the season.
