Gosens makes debut as Schalke come from behind to beat Fagiano Okayama 3-1

First appearance in S04 colours for Robin Gosens

New signing Robin Gosens played for Schalke for the first time on Saturday afternoon. Dejan Ljubičić also made his first appearance of pre-season as one of four changes from the 2-0 win over FC Kharkiv on Wednesday (22/7). Hasan Kuruçay and Ron Schallenberg came into the starting XI as well, with Adrian Gantenbein, Vitalie Becker, Satoshi Tanaka and Junior Adamu all dropping to the bench.

Royal Blues fight back from early deficit

The Japanese side looked assured in possession in the opening minutes and initially made Schalke do plenty of chasing, although without creating any real danger. The cagey opening came to an end in the eighth minute when Moussa Sylla tested German goalkeeper Steven Benda from the left of the penalty area. There was an even better chance a minute later at the other end, as Léo Gaúcho was played through before firing wide from eight yards. The recovering Robin Gosens may just have done enough with his sliding challenge to put the Brazilian off.

There was plenty of drama in the 13th minute. A long throw from Timo Becker on the right reached Hasan Kuruçay in the box, whose attempt appeared to strike an opponent on the arm. Referee Ali Mutlu waved play on rather than awarding Schalke a penalty, and Okayama broke quickly at the other end. The move ended with Léo Gaúcho drilling a low shot into the bottom-right corner from just outside the area.

Schalke responded well to going behind. Hasan Kuruçay rose highest to meet an Adil Aouchiche corner in the 19th minute, heading over the advancing Steven Benda to make it 1-1. Schalke gradually began to take control and did win a penalty in the 28th minute. Kuruçay was again at the heart of the action, having had his shirt pulled inside the Okayama box. Kenan Karaman stepped up and calmly rolled the ball into the bottom-right corner to put Schalke 2-1 ahead.

Dejan Ljubičić, playing at right wing-back, continued to cause problems down his side, although the Japanese defence cut out his low ball from the byline for a corner (38’). Adil Aouchiche again delivered the set piece, this time finding Kenan Karaman, but the captain was unable to generate enough power on his header (39’). Shortly before half-time, Moussa Sylla cut inside Hiroshi Omori on the left of the box but waited a fraction too long to shoot, leaving himself with too tight an angle (45’). The striker had another attempt after a lay-off from Dejan Ljubičić during the two minutes of added time, but Omori made the block.

Substitute Junior Adamu adds a third

Soufiane El-Faouzi was unable to make the most of a neat Schalke move early in the second half (50’). Shortly afterwards, the midfielder squared the ball from the right for Adil Aouchiche, who immediately aimed for the bottom corner, only for the Okayama goalkeeper to make the save (52’). Five minutes later, the Japanese side were awarded a free-kick on the left and did manage to put the ball in the net, but Daichi Tagami was flagged offside.

On the hour mark, Adil Aouchiche clipped a ball into the middle for substitute Junior Adam. His diving header, however, was too close to the goalkeeper. Two minutes later, head coach Miron Muslic made another eight substitutions after having already made three changes at the break, but the wholesale changes did little to disrupt Schalke’s rhythm. One of the latest introductions, Anton Donkor, soon hit the crossbar from distance (65’).

Ten minutes later, Junior Adamu scored his first goal for Schalke, dinking the ball past Goro Kawanami from near the penalty spot after being picked out by Anton Donkor. Two minutes after that, Okayama threatened at the other end, but Satoshi Tanaka slid in to block the shot. Schalke were back on top for the final 15 minutes, although they lacked the cutting edge to add to their tally and score therefore remained 3-1.

A trip to Kassel up next

After three friendlies in seven days and an intense training camp in Austria, Miron Muslic’s side will now continue their pre-season preparations back home. They are next in action on Saturday (1/8) away against Regionalliga side KSV Hessen Kassel (14:00 CEST).