week 26 - match report

Heart-stopping stuff as Krstajic sees off Stuttgart

Schalke boss Mirko Slomka neatly summed up the 1-0 win over Stuttgart in Saturday's top-of-the-table clash: "It wasn't our best performance, but we've played better and lost." Mladen Krstajic got the only goal of the game after the visitors had failed to take a number of gilt-edged opportunities early in the second half.

"It was a hard-fought game in which we had decent periods and Stuttgart had decent periods", added Slomka, who made just one change to the side that drew 1-1 in Hannover last week, Christian Pander coming in at left-back for Sebastian Boenisch.

Although the visitors showed glimpses of their potential in the first half, the only genuine chances came the way of the Royal Blues. But Özil lobbed the ball over the bar with only Hildebrand to beat in the fourth minute, and the Stuttgart keeper then did very well to stop Bajramovic's shot on 31 and Kuranyi's header five minutes later.

After the interval the action was again centred at the North Stand end, but this time it was the visitors who had several opportunities to take the lead. Schalke custodian Manuel Neuer saved brilliantly against Hilbert (48') and Hitzlsperger (70'), watched Cacau's shot fizz just past the post (56') and was left helpless when a Hitzlsperger blockbuster bounced back off the left-hand upright (58'). "From our point of view it was a totally unnecessary defeat. When you look at all the clear-cut chances we had, we should have gone ahead in the second half", said Stuttgart coach Armin Veh. "Apart from that my players gave it their all, as everybody saw. We weren't out for a point, we wanted to win."

Mirko Slomka freely admitted that "Stuttgart had the better chances in the second half". But the Royal Blues had the luck of the brave and also benefited from two other factors - the belief in their own ability from set pieces, which they had practised intensively in training, and the supporters. "It was a draining, nervy affair, but the support we got from the fans was exceptional", said the Schalke boss, a view shared by general manager Andreas Müller: "After the events of the last four weeks the crowd sensed that the players needed their help. The way the fans responded today was simply brilliant."

And they were rewarded for their ear-splitting efforts by Mladen Krstajic. The Serbian centre-back, who has constantly made himself available despite breaking a rib three weeks ago, stabbed the ball over the line to win the game for his side after an Özil corner had initially rebounded off the back of Kevin Kuranyi (76'). The VELTINS Arena exploded. From then on every throw-in won was celebrated like a goal, and the roar at full-time was no less deafening.

Stuttgart boss Armin Veh was magnanimous in defeat, saying: "Congratulations to Schalke for winning this crucial match." And Slomka was in no doubt as to the importance of the victory. "The goal was highly significant because this game was a key pointer as to where we stand. It's good for us to be able to go into a difficult game in Munich on the back of a win. I just hope that all our international players come back unscathed to allow us to give Bayern a real run for their money."

Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha, Bordon, Krstajic, Pander - Bajramovic, Ernst, Kobiashvili (Larsen 71') - Halil Altintop (Asamoah 76'), Kuranyi (Rodriguez 90' +2), Özil
Stuttgart: Hildebrand - Osorio (Lauth 80'), Meira, Delpierre, Magnin - Pardo - Hilbert, Farnerud (da Silva 68'), Hitzlsperger (Khedira 83') - Cacau, Streller
Goal: 1-0 Krstajic (76')
Attendance: 61,482 (sold out)
Referee: Dr Helmut Fleischer (Sigmertshausen)
Yellow cards: Kobiashvili (5/1) - Hitzlsperger (4), Pardo (5/1)