Week 19 - Match report

Royal Blues throw away two-goal lead to draw 2-2 in Bochum

With ten minutes left to play Schalke were two goals up at VfL Bochum and seemingly on their way to their twelfth win of the season. But two lapses of concentration denied them their reward for a largely convincing performance.

Felix Magath's side were led onto the field by a new captain. Manuel Neuer took the captain's armband in the absence of Heiko Westermann (knee operation) with the aim of extending his run of 445 minutes without conceding a goal by another 90. In attack Vicente Sanchez came in for former Bochum player Edu, a swap that quickly paid off.

The Royal Blues began very brightly and took the lead with just five minutes gone. Sanchez's opener gave his side even more momentum, ushering in a further 20 minutes of pressure on the Bochum goal. The home side, who started the second half of the season with a 2-1 win at Borussia Mönchengladbach last week, struggled under the onslaught and conceded again just before the interval. Kevin Kuranyi's 42nd minute strike came at a psychologically important time. But for Bochum it was the wake-up call they needed.

After the restart the home side took immediate control of the proceedings, and with the Royal Blues still trying to get organised Neuer had to defuse two chances in as many minutes. After weathering the early storm Schalke launched a number of counterattacks, most of which, however, fizzled out in the final third or ended in the arms of Bochum keeper Philipp Heerwagen, as in the case of Kuranyi's close-range effort on 55.

Had that gone in, it would almost certainly have killed the game off. Instead, the home side fought valiantly to reduce the deficit, with no little success. Vahid Hashemian's 82nd minute header gave Heiko Herrlich's men hope, and ten minutes later they were jubilant when Stanislav Sestak grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser. Two goals against the best defence in the league, which left Felix Magath frustrated afterwards: "I was pleased with our performance for much of the game. In the end we gave two points away. But that's how it is when you've got a lot of young players. When everyone stands around watching as you concede two goals, that's down to a lack of experience. In the 92nd minute we got caught badly on the break." The Schalke boss said the only way to turn this into a positive experience was by learning from it: "If it doesn't happen again next time, we'll be wiser." Bochum coach Heiko Herrlich was delighted with the point, saying: "I'm obviously very pleased considering how the game went, it feels more like a win."

After the final whistle the Schalke players retreated to the substitutes bench as one and attempted to come to terms with the loss of two points in silence. The 2-2 draw sees them drop to third place behind Bayern Munich, who won 3-2 in Bremen, and Bayer Leverkusen, who travel to Hoffenheim tomorrow.

Bochum: Heerwagen - Concha, Maltritz, Mavraj, Fuchs – Dedic (Azaouagh 46'), Dabrowski, Maric, Prokoph (Freier 46') - Sestak, Epalle (Hashemian 79')
Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha, Höwedes, Bordon, Schmitz - Matip, Moritz - Farfan (Edu 87'), Rakitic - Kuranyi, Sanchez (Baumjohann 57')
Goals: 0-1 Sanchez (5'), 0-2 Kuranyi (42'), 1-2 Hashemian (82'), 2-2 Sestak (90'+2)
Attendance: 29,008
Referee: Stark (Ergolding)
Yellow card: Mavraj (4)