Ba’s late goal secures a 1-0 win over Münster

Four changes to the starting XI

Head coach Kees van Wonderen made four changes to the team that lost 2-0 at SV Darmstadt 98 last weekend. Ron Schallenberg, suffering from a calf injury, was replaced by Tomas Kalas at centre-back, while Taylan Bulut returned to take Adrian Gantenbein’s place in the side. Loris Karius made his debut for the club in goal, meaning Justin Heekeren dropped to the bench. Striker Pape Meïssa Ba was also only a substitute, allowing Christopher Antwi-Adjei to come into the side. Seok-ju Hong from the U23s was named in a squad for the first time in the 2. Bundesliga.

Scrappy first half

There was little action to speak of early on as both teams looked to keep things simple. Münster in particular were patient in possession and didn’t commit too many men going forward. The first goalkeeper called into action was Schalke’s debutant Loris Karius. The January signing raced off his line to head a long ball by Joshua Mees to safety well outside his box (5’). Three minutes later, a shot by Preußen captain Marc Lorenz went straight down his throat (8’). At the other end, a counter-attack initiated by Christopher Antwi-Adjei failed to result in anything, while Aymen Barkok’s cross from the right wing didn’t find a teammate either (7’).

Karius was forced to make his first notable save in Schalke colours shortly afterwards. A pass in behind the S04 defence allowed Mees to run in behind, but Karius was able to crucially block his shot with his legs (15’). The Knappen also threatened eight minutes later: Mehmet Can Aydin’s strike from the edge of the box was pushed to safety by Münster goalkeeper Johannes Schenk (23’).

Schalke grew into the game as the first half went on and were able to take control of proceedings. Derry John Murkin put a dangerous ball into the box from the left, however Barkok couldn’t make any contact and Aydin then failed to get the ball under control (27’). The Royal Blues didn’t really come close to breaking the deadlock before the break, with a tame header from Tomas Kalas (35’) and a promising counter-attack stifled by Schenk sprinting off his line (36’) the only notable moments.

Karius protects the lead late on

Schalke started the second half brightly, putting together some nice moves early on in the Münster half. The first opportunity came in the 53rd minute: Murkin fired a low cross in which ended up finding Taylan Bulut at the back post. His pass was then backheeled towards goal by Janik Bachmann, but his attempt was blocked. Four minutes later, Barkok missed the target with a shot and then hit one into the goalkeeper’s arms a short while later (59’).

The hosts were well on top by the hour mark and were increasingly a threat in the final third. Amin Younes’ short corner went to Aydin and he hit the outside of the post with his effort from distance (63’). Coach van Wonderen then reacted by bringing on fresh legs in the form of Pape Meïssa Ba and Anton Donkor, taking off Antwi-Adjei and Younes (67’). The pair had barely been on the pitch for a minute when the away side almost took the lead: Mikkel Kirkeskov had a great chance to score but could only hit the post from within the Schalke box (68’).

That opportunity was then followed by an ambitious overhead kick by David Kinsombi, which was punched wide by Karius (71’). There was a lengthy stoppage after that chance as Paul Seguin went down following a collision (73’). He was eventually replaced by Peter Remmert, making his first-team debut (78’).

Both teams looked to find a winner late on, but it was Schalke that got one. Anton Donkor’s long ball was headed down by Münster’s Niko Koulis to Pape Meïssa Ba. He cut inside, went past a defender and then slotted the ball in at the near post to open the scoring (86’). The Royal Blues were only able to hold on to their lead thanks to their debutant in between the sticks. Karius first saved a header from Holmbert Fridjonsson from a corner and then blocked the rebound effort on the line (89’). Van Wonderen’s boys fought hard in the seven minutes of injury time and were able to defend their advantage to claim an important three points in the end.

A trip to the capital up

The Royal Blues’ next game is in Berlin next Saturday (8/3) away to Hertha BSC, who are currently 14th and play away at SV Elversberg this Sunday (2/3).