week 17 - match report

1,904th Bundesliga goal gives Schalke 1-0 win over Bielefeld

The Royal Blues ended the year on a perfect note after their 1,904th Bundesliga goal gave them a 1-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld at the Schüco Arena. Zlatan Bajramovic got the all-important goal eight minutes from time. The win sees Mirko Slomka's men end the first half of the season on 36 points.

Slomka made just one change to the side that beat Dortmund in last week's derby, skipper Marcelo Bordon returning from suspension to replace Dario Rodriguez. So while there may have been no surprises as far as the line-up was concerned, the kit took a little getting used to, with the Royal Blues taking to the field in orange shirts and white shorts.

The incessant rain in recent days had made the pitch very heavy, which didn't exactly add to the quality of the game. A succession of misplaced places by both teams in the opening stages meant neither side was able to string any genuine moves together. The first chance of the game fell to Halil Altintop on 14, while twelve minutes later a Bernd Korzynietz shot fizzed just past the post.

But nothing much happened apart from that and the game drifted aimlessly towards half-time. There were lots of midfield battles, but shots on goal were few and far between. Both sides played the ball square too often, and referee Lutz Wagner kept stopping the game, so there was no real flow to the play.

The pattern remained the same after the interval, with both defences looking solid. A 48th minute header by Mladen Krstajic (48.) was Schalke's most dangerous effort, while at the other end Christian Pander stepped in to clear the ball just as Sibusiso Zuma was shaping to shoot (50'). Slomka introduced Hamit Altintop and Mesut Özil in a bid to shake things up, but a 67th minute free-kick from Pander that struck the post was the only time the Royal Blues went close.

Overall Schalke's play lacked precision and they failed to apply the kind of pressure down the flanks that had made them stand out in recent weeks. Neither Pander nor Rafinha were able to get in behind the Bielefeld defence. So it was not until the final ten minutes that things got exciting. Kuranyi almost gave Schalke the lead but with seven minutes left the Royal Blues finally got the breakthrough. Hamit Altintop swung the ball over to the far post and substitute Zlatan Bajramovic headed home from close range.

Kuranyi missed a great opportunity to add a second in time added on. But after the final whistle it was the travelling fans who were celebrating as Schalke climbed back to the top of the table, though Bremen have a chance to regain their lead on Sunday.

Bielefeld: Hain - Korzynietz (Vata 84'), Bollmann, Westermann, Schuler (Gabriel 79') - Ndjeng, Kauf, Kucera, Böhme (Masmanidis 73') - Zuma, Wichniarek

Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha, Bordon, Krstajic, Pander - Ernst - Varela (Hamit Altintop 57'), Kobiashvili (Bajramovic 79') - Halil Altintop (Özil 67'), Kuranyi, Lovenkrands

Goal: 0-1 Bajramovic (82')

Attendance: 26,601 (sold out)

Referee: Wagner (Hofheim)

Yellow cards: Schuler - Kobiashvili