Ron Schallenberg: The win tastes even sweeter with a clean sheet!

The 51st minute of the contest at the Avnet Arena will hold both positive but also painful memories for Ron Schallenberg. The 26-year-old sought to latch onto a Soufiane El-Faouzi corner head-first at the near post; however, in trying to do so he received the studded boot of Rayan Ghrieb to his forehead. As a result, the Schalke midfielder had to receive treatment on the field of play, with blood visibly covering his head. Meanwhile, referee Felix Bickel reviewed the action and ultimately came to the decision to award Schalke a penalty, albeit five minutes later. “I gave him clear indication that it was a stone-wall foul,” explained Schallenberg. “It took a while for that to be recognised but in the end that doesn’t make any difference to us.”

What followed was a matter for the boss to handle as captain Kenan Karaman stepped up to assuredly dispatch the spot kick that Schallenberg had drawn for 2-0. That marked his second goal of the day as well as the end of the scoring. The skipper also spoke words of praise towards Schalke’s number 6 after the game: “Ron played superbly, turning the ball over well before playing forward immediately, which meant we could create chances.” The man on the receiving end of this praise shared a similar feeling: “Our style of play suits me well because I can defend high up the pitch, while still having lads behind me to offer support,” revealed Schallenberg. “Another factor was that Magdeburg really wanted to get on the ball and play and that can lead to turnovers on a good day for us.”

The fact that S04 had conceded a lot of goals in recent matches, especially against Magdeburg, has not escaped the veteran’s attention. “The win here tastes even sweeter with a clean sheet!” The 26-year-old feels there is positive development happening not only within the team, but also for him personally: “A lot is going well right now. I’m in good form and can sense great trust from the coach.” Normally, the midfielder turns a deaf ear to external discussion. “However, when the coach puts so much faith in you, that has an effect.”

Goalkeeper Loris Karius also noted Schallenberg’s good performance, even if the two are not playing in quite such close proximity in comparison to the previous campaign: “Last season, I had him right in front of me, operating in central defence. He has now been able to return to his favoured position. You can sense that fills him with confidence and that he is getting better week by week.” Although Saturday’s showing will have been accompanied by a thumping head, Schallenberg will certainly be happy to take one for the team in light of the overall outcome of proceedings.