Karaman penalty gives Schalke 1-0 win over Wehen Wiesbaden

Three changes to the starting XI

Head coach Karel Geraerts used a different tactical set-up for the clash against Wiesbaden. He opted for a three-man backline, with five midfielders supporting two strikers.

He made three changes to the starting line-up, with Cedric Brunner, Timo Baumgartl and Thomas Ouwejan replacing Henning Matriciani, Simon Terodde and Derry John Murkin. Matriciani and Terodde were on the bench, while Murkin was suspended for Saturday’s game.

Little to report in first half

The game got off to a slow start. The guests looked to get on the front foot first, but Nikolas Agrafiotis’ effort from range didn’t trouble Marius Müller (3’). The majority of the action took place in the middle of the park, with both sides vying for control of proceedings.

The first good chance of the game came in the 14th minute. Lasse Günther broke free down the left wing and found Franko Kovacevic unmarked in the box. Kovacevic fired towards an empty net, but Tomas Kalas was in the right place at the right time to deflect the ball over the crossbar and away from danger.

S04 looked threatening for the first time around 20 minutes after that. Kenan Karaman latched onto Thomas Ouwejan’s ball into the box and turned away from his marker. S04’s number 19 looked set to fire the Royal Blues in front, before a last-ditch intervention from Robin Heußer threw him off his stride. Karaman dragged his shot wide and the score remained 0-0 (35’).

Shortly before the first half drew to a close, Schalke would have another promising opportunity. Blendi Idrizi played a lovely ball into the box, which Marcin Kaminski met powerfully. Unfortunately, his header flew just wide of the post and the sides headed into the break level-pegging.

Schalke awarded penalty after foul on Churlinov

The second half burst into life for Schalke, as Kenan Karaman drove into the Wiesbaden box and got a shot off. An opposition defender managed to catch Karaman at the last second, however, and deflected his dangerous-looking effort out for a corner.

The Turkey international went one better shortly afterwards. Darko Churlinov was brought down in the box by Aleksandar Vukotic and the referee pointed to the spot. Karaman stepped up and converted the penalty coolly to put the Royal Blues 1-0 up after an hour.

Schalke looked much more composed going forward after taking the lead. Indeed, Thomas Ouwejan almost got 04’s second just four minutes later, as his shot whistled just past the frame of the goal. The Dutchman would have a similar opportunity in the 76th minute after winning the ball back and charging into the Wiesbaden box. He struck his shot with venom, but he couldn’t find the target on this occasion either.

SVWW turned up the heat once again in the closing stages, but were unable to truly test Marius Müller. Substitute Hyun-Ju Lee danced into the box with seconds to go in normal time, but Henning Matriciani, Ron Schallenberg and Tomas Kalas were able to neutralise the threat and ensure that Schalke kept hold of their slender lead.

Away at Magdeburg

FC Schalke 04 are back on the road in their next game, as Karel Geraerts side take on 1. FC Magdeburg next Saturday (24/2). The game at the MDCC-Arena will kick off at 20:30 CET. Earlier in the season, S04 triumphed 4-3 in Gelsenkirchen.