Match report - Week 9

Schalke lose 2-1 to Kaiserslautern

Schalke slipped to a narrow 2-1 defeat against Kaiserslautern after an intense encounter at the VELTINS Arena on Saturday evening in which both teams finished the match with ten men. Ralf Fährmann was shown the red card after just half an hour, and he was joined by Kaiserslautern’s Rodnei after 61 minutes. The referee deemed that both players had committed professional fouls.

On his Bundesliga home debut Schalke coach Huub Stevens opted to start without Jefferson Farfan, who had only just returned from the latest round of World Cup qualifying matches in South America.  Julian Draxler started in place of the Peruvian. That was the only change Stevens made to the team that won 2-1 at Hamburg SV last time out.

The visitors created the first two chances, though Dorge Kouemaha failed to beat Fährmann on either occasion. His first attempt was a header from a Christian Tiffert corner after five minutes, and four minutes later he was denied with a follow-up effort 13 metres from goal. After these early opportunities for Kaiserslautern the Royal Blues began to force their way into the game. Stevens's side were unlucky in the 19th minute after a clever backheel from Raul had put Klaas-Jan Huntelaar through on goal. There was contact in the box between the Dutchman and Kaiserslautern goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, but the Schalke player did not go down and so no penalty was given. Huntelaar was then unable to capitalise from a tight angle.

Moments later a penalty had been awarded at the other end and Schalke were down to ten men. A pass from Schechter put Kouemaha clean through on Fährmann's goal. The Kaiserslautern forward was a split-second quicker to the ball than the Schalke keeper, which resulted in contact between the two players. Referee Sippel pointed straight to the spot and showed Fährmann the red card. A harsh decision! Lars Unnerstall was introduced at the expense of Julian Draxler but the substitute goalkeeper was unable to prevent Christian Tiffert's penalty from hitting the net.

Despite being a man down Schalke continued to press and Jurado had two chances in quick succession, but both efforts were wayward. The Kaiserslautern defence withstood the pressure and it was the visitors who created the final chance of the half on 44, Olcay Sahan heading millimetres past the left-hand angle from Alexander Bugera's cross. Oliver Kirch did unleash another shot 60 seconds later, but the referee blew for offside and the ball would not have hit the target in any case.

Stevens made one change in the break, introducing Jermaine Jones in place of Lewis Holtby. Schalke made the brighter start to the second half and their endeavour was nearly rewarded soon after the restart when Jones fired a well-placed shot at goal following a pass from Jurado. Trapp managed to fist the ball away at the very last moment.

With an hour gone Sippel awarded the second penalty of the evening – this time for the Royal Blues. Rodnei was caught out by Jurado's pace and sent the Schalke player tumbling in the box with a gentle shove, an infringement that led to his dismissal for denying Jurado a clear goalscoring opportunity. Huntelaar kept his cool from the spot, slamming the ball into the bottom-right corner of the goal for a 62nd minute equaliser.

The Schalke goal served as a wake-up call for Kaiserslautern. A counterattack involving Tiffert and Kouemaha saw the latter shoot from six metres, but his effort was saved by Unnerstall. The Kaiserslautern forward was not to be denied a second time, however. In the 72nd minute a Pierre de Wit cross into the box from the right was met by Kouemaha, who sent Unnerstall the wrong way with a close-range header at the far post.

Benedikt Höwedes almost restored parity just three minutes later, but his header from five metres whistled narrowly past the left-hand post. Raul suffered a similar fate on 80. Picking up a pass from Jurado, the Spaniard fired narrowly over the crossbar. Three minutes later Höwedes had another effort on goal. This time the Germany international's diving header flew just right of the target. Raul also came close in added time. Kaiserslautern attacks were few and far between in the closing stages. They kept it tight at the back and managed to hold on to their narrow winning margin.

Schalke: Fährmann, Höger, Höwedes, Metzelder, Fuchs, Papadopoulos (Farfan 75'), Holtby (Jones 46') - Draxler (Unnerstall 30'), Raul, Jurado, Huntelaar
Kaiserslautern: Trapp, Dick, Amedick, Rodnei, Bugera, Kirch, De Wit (Petsos 73') - Tiffert (Sukuta-Pasu 84'), Sahan, Shechter (Abel 62'), Kouemaha
Goals: 0-1 Tiffert (Penalty 30'), 1-1 Huntelaar (pen. 62'), 1-2 Kouemaha (72')
Referee: Sippel (Munich)
Attendance: 61, 673 (sold out)
Yellow cards: Raul, Höger, Metzelder - Dick, Kirch, Bugera
Red cards: Fährmann (last-man foul 28') - Rodnei (last-man foul 61')