When the game against 1. FC Heidenheim went into the break, the supporters of FC Schalke 04 were unanimous: The star is the result. The hosts led 1:0 and didn’t know exactly why. The facts were clear, Dominik Drexler had scored the 1-0 with a header (35th minute), playfully better Heidenheimer missed a number of good opportunities, but the creation of the only goal gave information about the accidental favor of this intermediate result. He didn’t know who the ball came from, “I think it was a Heidenheimer who extended the ball to me,” admitted the shooter.
Drexler could afford this modesty when he commented after the final whistle. From Schalke’s point of view, the result still expressed a lot of luck: 3-0 they sent their opponent home to the Swabian Ostalb, the majority of the 57,121 spectators were suitably excited, but the not inconsiderable colony of visiting fans didn’t have to be angry : Your team had been beaten under value. “It was a very close game,” explained Schalke coach Mike Büskens truthfully, the clear result did not reflect the facts.
However, his team had improved significantly in the second half, and the success was not undeserved. The 2:0 of the Japanese national player Ko Itakura was a hit at the right time (57th), he brought security to the hitherto inhibited Schalke game and took away Heidenheim’s belief in success. Büskens once again found wise words in his analysis: In the second division, successful moments are even more important for the outcome of the game than in the first.
Schalke have never been in a better position this season than after this matchday
On the one hand, the fact that the victory promoted the first division relegated to a promotion place is an interesting message, since Schalke have never been better this season than in fourth place. On the other hand, those involved know that they shouldn’t get too conceited about the spreadsheet. “I look at the table tonight and then I forget it very quickly,” announced Drexler. Apparently he was planning a TV evening on Saturday to study the next opponent in the top match between Darmstadt and Nuremberg. Böllenfalltor is the address of the away tour next weekend.
Coolness is required in the end of the season in the relentlessly exciting second division, but Schalke could still be a little satisfied with themselves. They resisted when things grew tight in front of Martin Fraisl’s goal in the first half and attacked when control of the game went vacant. After the 2-0 Schalke didn’t retreat, they increased the pressure and pushed for the 3-0. In the meantime, the video eye of the DFB came to their aid: after Heidenheim’s supposed 1: 2 through Christian Kühlwetter, the ball was already in the kick-off circle (62nd), when the Kölner Keller determined an offside in the complex formation of the goal. FCH had several good chances in the closing stages, but after Tim Kleindienst failed to put the ball in the net from a distance of two and a half meters, the Swabians gave up.
For the first time, the Royal Blues managed more than one work victory under their new coach
Mike Büskens has now won four times in four games since replacing Dimitrios Grammozis and for the first time on Saturday the success didn’t look like a working win. Players like Rodrigo Zalazar and Itakura as well as Drexler stood out because of their class. Simon Terodde, who added the 3-0 just before the gong, his 22nd goal of the season, would have deserved compliments even if he hadn’t scored himself. His participation in the game was not limited to the attacking third, recently dubbed the “red zone”, which is his natural home. With diligence, assertiveness and game intelligence, he drove the offensive.
What does the successful coach Büskens, according to his own definition “Hermann Gerland from Schalke” do differently? “He’s not a witch,” explained Drexler, “but he made a few important changes.” A chain of four instead of five, the playfully strong Itakura moved from the cover center to midfield, the most important moves of the trainer are in place. Schalke seems to be ready for the final round, a return to the first division no longer seems unlikely.
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