Loris Karius: It was all about getting to the next round

Both halves in normal time ended badly according to the S04 keeper. HFC took a 1-0 lead right before the half-time whistle before bringing it back to 2-2 in the 90th minute, forcing the game into extra-time. According to Karius “It was a typical cup game. Extra time was unnecessary. But it’s all about getting to the next round, and we managed to go through.”

Dejan Ljubičić drew Schalke level just after the hour mark before Edin Džeko put them 2-1 in front by converting a penalty in the closing stages. However, the favourites suddenly lost their dominance in the final minutes. “We became hectic. The crowd got behind their team and we couldn’t find a response to that on the pitch”, explained Karius. “We should’ve remained calmer.”

Full focus on Augsburg

The team kept their cool in extra-time with Moussa Sylla, Junior Adamu and Džeko scoring to seal the victory. “I’m happy that he’s here and is back scoring goals for us”, said the keeper, praising his striker, who as well as scoring a brace, had also assisted Sylla’s goal. “We definitely could’ve wrapped things up sooner but we missed too many chances. Our full focus is now on the Bundesliga game in Augsburg. We expect a completely different game there.”