Karaman and Sylla on target in 2-0 home win against Regensburg

Sylla returns, Kalas sidelined

The Royal Blues made three changes to their starting line-up following last weekend’s goalless draw in Ulm. Tomas Kalas was left out of the squad due to a knee problem, having also not taken part in the team’s final training session. He was replaced by Ron Schallenberg. Moussa Sylla, who recently recovered from a knock, and Amin Younes both returned to the starting line-up, in place of Mehmet Can Aydin and Janik Backmann (both on the bench). 

Karaman puts S04 ahead

From the start, Schalke assumed control of proceedings and enjoyed more of the ball than their opponents. Instead, Regensburg found themselves needing to defend deep in the opening minutes. The Royal Blues first went close after just four minutes, as Sylla picked out Tobias Mohr with a well-timed pass. Jahn’s Kai Pröger managed to get back in time to prevent Mohr from getting off a shot. 

The visitors were able to muster their first shot in the 13th minute, as Pröger won the ball in midfield and quickly played it through to Noah Ganaus. He was able to get off a shot from a slight angle, but had to watch as it sailed harmlessly across the face of goal and out of play. Just three minutes later, Kenan Karaman would find the back of the net for the hosts. Paul Sequin delivered a clever pass to Mohr, who drove into the box before laying the ball off to Karaman. The S04 captain did well to round Rasim Bulic and get off a shot, which bounced off the inside of the right post and into the back of the net — 1-0 to the Royal Blues! 

With the lead in hand, the Royal Blues continued to look for opportunities to move up the pitch. Sylla nearly managed to send Karaman through with a line-breaking pass in the 24th minute, but the striker was just a step to slow to get on the end of it, allowing Jahn goalkeeper Felix Gebhardt to come out and secure the ball. Shortly after, it was once again Sylla that initiated an attack, this time finding Amin Younes. The attacker was unable to beat his defender, however, as he was prevented from getting off a shot (26’). 

The next attack saw Karaman tee up Sylla, as he broke through on goal and went one-on-one with Gebhardt. The goalkeeper was able to make the save, pushing the ball away from danger (35’). Max Grüger then took aim four minutes later, but his effort went just wide of the right post. As the half-time whistle went, the Royal Blues headed into the dressing room with a narrow, but deserved, 1–0 lead. 

Sylla makes it 2-0

Neither side made any changes at the break, as Schalke nearly made it 2-0 through Schallenberg in the 52nd minute. The midfielder was able to direct a powerful header on target, but was denied by another strong save from Gebhardt. The ball went out of play for a corner, which soon resulted in Schalke’s second goal of the afternoon. 

Regensburg were unable to clear the corner, as the ball fell to Mohr near the edge of the box. His low shot took a deflection on its way towards goal, as Sylla was able to turn it in from close range (53’). The home fans had to keep their celebrations in check for a few minutes as the goal was first checked by VAR to determine whether Sylla was offside or not, before being allowed to stand. 

Younes then came close to adding to the scoreline for the Royal Blues, getting a shot off from 12 metres out after a cross from Mohr. His effort would flash just wide of the left side of the goal, however. Karaman also contributed another good effort at goal, but was unable to get enough power on his header after a cross from Seguin. The latter then saw his shot blocked in the 72nd minute. 

With ten minutes left to play, referee Patrick Schwengers pointed to the spot after Karaman was brought to ground by an onrushing Gebhardt. The referee then consulted the VAR and reviewed the play himself, before reversing his decision. The visitors looked to mount attacks of their own in the closing minutes, but were unable to generate any real threat on Justin Heekeren’s goal. In the end, the Royal Blues held on to win 2-0, their second clean sheet in as many games. 

Away at HSV after the international break

With the third international break of the season upon them, the Royal Blues will be back in league action on Saturday, 23rd November at Hamburger SV. The match at the Volksparkstadion will kick off at 20:30 CET.