week 19 - match report
Derby clash ends 0-0 – Rodriguez out injured
Schalke: F. Rost - Rafinha, Bordon, Rodriguez (Larsen 84'), Krstajic - Poulsen - F. Ernst (Altintop 71'), Kobiashvili - Lincoln - Sand (Asamoah 57'), Kuranyi
Dortmund: Weidenfeller - P. Degen, Brzenska, Wörns, Dede - Kehl - Rosicky, N. Sahin (Kruska 71') - Odonkor (Buckley 65'), Smolarek, Gambino (Metzelder 89')
Goals: none
Attendance: 61,524 (sold out)
Yellow cards: Krstajic, Poulsen - Odonkor, Smolarek, Weidenfeller
Referee: Kircher (Munich)
FC Schalke 04 (0) 0-0 (0) Borussia Dortmund
In a game of few genuine chances Schalke could only manage a 0-0 draw in the local derby against Borussia Dortmund. And as rivals Bremen and Hamburg both won, the result means the Royal Blues have lost ground in the battle for a Champions League place.
As he had already indicated, head coach Mirko Slomka went into the 127th Ruhr derby with the same eleven players who beat FC Kaiserslautern last weekend, with the fit-again Hamit Altintop and Zlatan Bajramovic, back from suspension, returning to the bench.
The visitors made the short trip to Gelsenkirchen full of confidence after last Saturday's 3-2 defeat of VfL Wolfsburg. And after just two minutes Darío Rodriguez was forced to step in and clear the ball for a corner when Tomas Rosicky attempted to thread the ball through to the Poland striker Ebi Smolarek. Moments later, though, the Royal Blues won their first corner of the game. Mladen Krstajic flicked the ball on, but Marcelo Bordon had to lean back slightly to reach it and was therefore unable to steer his header towards goal. Then, after eight minutes, Rafinha played a wall pass with Fabian Ernst and tried his luck with a left-foot shot from just outside the area, but the ball flew just over the crossbar.
A minute later Schalke enjoyed a bit of luck when Krstajic deflected a Rosicky free-kick on to the right-hand upright. But soon afterwards the Royal Blues struck the frame of the goal themselves. Lincoln's free-kick would have found the net, had Roman Weidenfeller not got a hand to the ball to knock it on to the bar. In the resulting scramble Christian Poulsen clattered the Dortmund keeper and was shown the yellow card by referee Knut Kircher. It was the Denmark international's tenth caution of the season and means he will miss Wednesday's trip to Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The Royal Blues had begun to dominate the proceedings by this stage, and on 22 minutes Weidenfeller was called into action again after a corner to beat out Bordon's header and then kick the ball away before Krstajic could pounce. Two minutes later he fisted away a fierce free-kick from Bordon that was heading for the left-hand corner. And in the 33rd minute Schalke were denied by Weidenfeller once more when, after Ernst and Lincoln had combined to produce the best move of the half, he managed to block Sand's attempted lob.
In the closing ten minutes, however, the game belonged to the visitors, who enjoyed more and more of the possession. And they could have gone ahead a minute from the interval when Salvatore Gambino went to ground in the penalty area from Sahin's pass, but the referee waved play on.
Schalke got off to the better start after the break. Kevin Kuranyi volleyed the ball just over from the edge of the box and Sand struck a drive from distance straight into the arms of Weidenfeller. At the other end Rosicky also sent a volley over the bar. But after that the game got scrappier and scrappier.
The Royal Blues were unable to unlock the Dortmund defence, while the visitors took few risks on the break, evidently content with the point. There was therefore little goalmouth action to speak of at either end as the game petered out. To make matters worse, Schalke will have to do without the services of another first-team regular after Darío Rodriguez limped off with a hamstring strain.
