Six-goal thriller in Gelsenkirchen ends level

Unchanged starting XI, Ouédraogo back in the squad

S04 head coach Karel Geraerts named the same starting XI that emerged victorious against league leaders FC St. Pauli last weekend. The Belgian made two changes to the squad, with Henning Matriciani and Assan Ouédraogo replacing Lino Tempelmann and Dominick Drexler on the bench. It was the first time Ouédraogo has featured in a matchday squad since the end of October, as the 17-year-old has been recovering from a torn syndesmosis ligament for the past few months.

Nothing to split sides initially

Paderborn looked livelier at the start of the match, with their first chance coming in the fourth minute. David Kinsombi laid the ball off to Koen Kostons, who whipped a cross in towards the back post. Ilyas Ansah tried to bring the ball down in the six-yard box, but his touch was too heavy. S04 started to have more of a say in the game after the chance, but struggled to pose a serious threat to SCP goal. Bryan Lasme’s flicked header from Ron Schallenberg’s cross in the 25th minute didn’t trouble Pelle Boevink.

Karaman puts S04 in front from the spot

The referee awarded Schalke a penalty five minutes later. After controlling a flick-on from Bryan Lasme, Kenan Karaman attempted to dink the ball over Filip Bilbija. Bilbija stopped Karaman in his tracks, but VAR confirmed that Paderborn’s number 7 blocked the flick with an outstretched arm. S04’s number 19 stepped up to take the penalty and smashed the ball past Boevink to break the deadlock (32’).

The opener didn’t do much to change the flow of the match. The Royal Blues gradually started to impose themselves in more areas of the game, but Paderborn had a slight edge in terms of carving out chances. Ilyas Ansah had the most noteworthy opportunity for the guests, as his delicate chip over Marius Müller just missed the target (36’). In the sixth minute of added time, Filip Bilbija spurned the chance to level things up again. Raphael Obermair’s cross landed at the striker’s feet, but his shot was straight at Marius Müller, which meant that Schalke went into the break with a slender lead.

Lasme doubles the lead before Zehnter scores stunner

Paul Seguin’s arm connected with Filip Bilbija’s face shortly after the restart and Schalke’s number 7 was booked by the referee. It was the fifth time that Seguin has seen yellow this season, which means that the midfielder will miss the Royal Blues’ match against Hertha BSC next weekend. Schalke extended their advantage four minutes later. Bryan Lasme latched onto a long ball forward from Derry John Murkin and curled the ball past Boevink to make it 2-0 to S04.

Paderborn refused to roll over, however, and looked to reduce the deficit. Ilyas Ansah drove into the box and cut the ball back to Filip Bilbija, who was unable to fire home to put the visitors back within one. They would get their reward after an hour’s play through a fantastic goal from Aaron Zehnter, however. The winger gave Marius Müller no chance, finding the top-right corner from the edge of the box to cut Schalke’s lead in half.

Paderborn complete comeback, Topp rescues a point for S04

Despite the Royal Blues ensuring that more and more of the game was being played in the Paderborn half, the away side managed to level things up. Shortly after Schalke were denied a penalty, as Kai Klefisch’s challenge on Simon Terodde was judged to be fair (74’), Ilyas Ansah’s long-range effort struck Tomas Kalas on the arm and the referee awarded the away side a spot kick. Marius Müller got a hand to David Kinsombi’s penalty, but he was unable to keep it out and the ball trickled over the line to make the scoreline 2-2 (78’).

Paderborn were able to exploit Schalke’s disorganised defence to complete the turnaround in the 86th minute. Sebastian Klaas received the ball from Robert Leipertz and slotted home from close range for SCP’s third. Substitute Keke Topp ensured that Schalke would get something from the game, though. The 19-year-old controlled a long pass forward with the back of his heel, flicking it over one Paderborn defender before dancing past another. He then produced a sublime finish to level things up at 3-3 in the 92nd minute. In the sixth minute of added time, Kenan Karaman connected with Derry John Murkin’s cross, but his effort didn’t cause any problems for Boevick.

A trip to Berlin next weekend

On matchday 26 of the 2. Bundesliga season, S04 will travel to the capital to take on Hertha BSC. The game at the Olympiastadion is scheduled to kick off at 13:30 CET on Sunday (17/3).