week 24 - match report
Classy Schalke made to fight for Hannover win
Hannover 96: Enke - Cherundolo, Mertesacker, Zuraw, Troest (Delura 30') - Vinicius, Lala (Ricardo Sousa 81'), Dabrowski - Stajner - Hashemian (Christiansen 72), Brdaric - Trainer: Neururer
FC Schalke 04: Rost - Rafinha, Bordon, Krstajic, Kobiashvili - Poulsen - Ernst, Bajramovic - Azaouagh (Rodriguez 65') - Asamoah (Varela 90'), Sand (Larsen 81')
Goals: 0-1 Poulsen (20'), 0-2 Bajramovic (28'), 1-2 Christiansen (74')
Attendance: 47,000
Hannover 96 (0) 1-2 (2) FC Schalke 04
Schalke 04 kept their bid for a Champions League place firmly on track on Saturday afternoon with a 2-1 win at Hannover 96 thanks to goals from Christian Poulsen and Zlatan Bajramovic. But after Poulsen had been sent off and Thomas Christiansen had pulled one back for the home side, the Royal Blues were left clinging on to victory in final quarter of an hour.
Schalke coach Mirko Slomka made three changes to the side that beat Nürnberg last week. Knee-injury victims Kevin Kuranyi and Lincoln were replaced by Ebbe Sand and Mimoun Azaouagh, the latter making his Bundesliga debut for the Royal Blues, while Fabian Ernst returned from suspension to take Gustavo Varela's place in midfield.
In the first half Slomka's men showed all the efficiency of a top-class side and took the lead with the game's first attempt on goal in the 20th minute. Levan Kobiashvili floated a free-kick into the box and Christian Poulsen flicked it on with the back of his head to send the ball into the top right-hand corner of the goal.
Eight minutes later Schalke doubled their lead thanks to a bit of magic from Zlatan Bajramovic. Running on to a pass from Kobiashvili he tricked his way past Germany international Per Mertesacker by slipping the ball past him on the right and running round him on the left before curling the ball past Enke into the far corner of the net. And the game could have been settled after 37 minutes had Asamoah not been wrongly pulled back for offside when put clean through on goal by a superb Bajramovic pass.
After the interval the home side made it clear that they had not given up hope. Altin Lala signalled their intentions in the 48th minute when he tested Rost with a shot from distance. Hannover looked especially dangerous from corners, and after Stajner had sent one in on 52 Rost was forced into a brilliant save by Brdaric. Nine minutes later the next Hannover corner saw Zuraw flick the ball into the danger area, but Mertesacker was unable to find the target.
Nevertheless Schalke seemed to be in control until things suddenly livened up in the closing stages. Christian Poulsen, who had cautioned earlier, clearly handled the ball when going up for a header. The referee pointed to the spot and showed the Denmark midfielder a second yellow followed by a red. Rost saved Brdaric's penalty, but Christiansen netted the rebound to pull one back for the home side. And Hannover should have equalised in the second minute of time added on when Stajner found himself clean through on goal from a Brdaric pass, only to fire the ball high and wide with only Rost to beat.
Another important away victory for the Royal Blues, then, even though they were unable to make up ground on SV Hamburg, who earned a surprising win at Bayern Munich. But because Werder Bremen were held to a draw at Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke are now just two points behind both northern clubs in fourth place. "We want to overhaul them at some point. And if it's not until the final day of the season that's fine by me", said Slomka.
