Goals from Antwi-Adjei and Lasme secure 3-1 win over Aarau

Nine players from the starting XI in the final game of 2024, a 4-1 win in Elversberg, retained their place in the side. The only two changes saw Ron-Thorben Hoffmann replace Justin Heekeren in goal and Paul Seguin come in for Janik Bachmann in midfield. Bachmann hasn’t travelled to Turkey and is instead continuing his rehabilitation in Gelsenkirchen following a minor knee operation.

Antwi-Adjei opens the scoring

Schalke looked to press their opponents high up the pitch and this saw them win the ball back in Aarau’s half on several occasions. Nevertheless, it was S04’s goalkeeper, Ron-Thorben Hoffmann, who was called into action first. He was quick off his line to smother the ball after Junior Eyamba had run in behind from a counter-attack (9’). The Royal Blues’ first attempt came after 15 minutes: Derry John Murkin’s low drive went wide from 20 yards out.

S04 were able to take control of proceedings in the first half, remaining solid at the back and putting together some nice attacking moves. In the 20th minute, Moussa Sylla hammered a shot off the crossbar after FCA goalkeeper Marvin Hübel couldn’t claim Christopher Antwi-Adjei’s cross. Max Grüger (21’) and Antwi-Adjei (25’) had further shots for Schalke, before Ron Schallenberg made a vital last-ditch tackle on Aarau captain Valon Fazliu in the box (29’).

Van Wonderen’s team deservedly took the lead with half an hour played. Max Grüger’s header from Paul Seguin’s corner was blocked on the line by Marcin Dickenmann, but Antwi-Adjei was there to convert the rebound for 1-0. Schalke searched for a second goal before the break and had several opportunities. After a turnover of possession in the Aarau half, Mehmet Cen Aydin passed to Moussa Sylla, whose low strike was saved by Hübel (37’). Two minutes later, Schalke’s number 9 came close to scoring a stunner. A nice bit of interplay between Bulut and Aydin saw the latter hang a cross up to the far post, where Sylla met the ball with an overhead kick, only to narrowly miss the target.

Lasme scores twice to secure the win

Head coach Kees van Wonderen put out a completely different team for the second half, introducing Michael Langer, Anton Donkor, Felipe Sanchez, Tomas Kalas, Adrian Gantenbein, Ilyes Hamache, Martin Wasinski, Aris Bayindir, Zaid Amoussou-Tchibara, Bryan Lasme and Emil Højlund. It didn’t take the new-look XI long to threaten either. In the 47th minute, Bryan Lasme got in on the right wing and played it to Zaid Amoussou-Tchibara, whose shot was blocked in the box. Three minutes later, Ilyes Hamache’s corner was only cleared to Martin Wasinski outside the area and his effort wasn’t far from the target.

Aarau equalised almost from nowhere in the 51st minute. After receiving the ball from a throw-in, Tomas Kalas was dispossessed by Esey Gebreyesus and Yannick Touré then gained possession. The FCA attacker was able to finish convincingly past Michael Langer to level the game. The Swiss side could then have taken the lead six minutes later, but Gebreyesus could only toe-poke his shot wide from a similar position. Schalke were able to regain control of the game after this positive period of play for Aarau. Referee Sercan Sahan adjudged Henri Koide’s tackle on Ilyes Hamache in the box to be a foul and Bryan Lasme subsequently powered his penalty home to make it 2-1 (67’). Schalke’s number 11 then dragged a shot just past the far post from a tight angle two minutes later.

Schalke continued to press for a third goal: Anton Donkor drove forward from his own half and then shot over (72’), while Emil Højlund was denied a penalty by referee Sahan after contact from goalkeeper Andreas Hirzel (75’). The scorer of the second goal, Lasme, ensured Schalke would start 2025 with a victory. Højlund played him the ball on the halfway line and Lasme used his pace to burst clear of the Aarau defence, before slotting it into the far corner (79’).

FC Zürich up next

S04’s second friendly during the training camp in Belek will be on Thursday (9/1) at 13:00 CET. The opponents are FC Zürich, another Swiss side.