week 31 - match report
Schalke slip to 2-1 defeat in Bochum
The Royal Blues suffered a major setback in the championship race last night, going down 2-1 at VfL Bochum in front of 31,238 fans. Kevin Kuranyi had given Mirko Slomka's men the lead after eight minutes, but goals from Zvjezdan Misimovic (33') and Theofanis Gekas (41') won the game for the home side. Schalke remain on top of the table, but would relinquish this position were Bremen to win in Bielefeld on Sunday.
Slomka placed his faith in the side that beat Energie Cottbus 2-0 last week, with Dario Rodriguez continuing to stand in for the injured Mladen Krstajic and Mesut Özil operating up front alongside Kevin Kuranyi and Gerald Asamoah.
The match was a lively affair from the outset with chances for both sides. And the Royal Blues got off to the perfect start on eight minutes when Kevin Kuranyi converted Schalke's first chance of the game, heading home Christian Pander's cross from five metres out. Schalke dominated the proceedings after that, stringing together some neat passing moves in midfield, but apart from an opportunity for Gerald Asamoah on the quarter hour they failed to carve out any more openings. On top of this, the Royal Blues began to give the ball away in midfield with some regularity midway through the half, thus allowing the home side to get back into it. "After going one up you have to do better than that away from home. We failed to maintain our dominance and passing accuracy", explained Slomka after the final whistle.
Bochum were more aggressive and constantly sought to play quick balls up to Gekas, their most prolific striker. Yet Marcelo Bordon and Dario Rodriguez were assured in central defence. "Only when we showed more composure going forward did we start creating chances", said Bochum coach Marcel Koller. The home side's equaliser resulted from a counterattack. Grote's cross caught the Schalke defence napping, allowing Misimovic to head home unchallenged.
Nevertheless, roared on by well over 10,000 travelling fans, the Royal Blues continued to go forward and were unlucky on 38 when Pander's free-kick struck the upright. But just before the interval they suffered a further setback when a quick counterthrust and ball into the middle by Maltritz found Gekas unmarked at the back post, and the Greek striker left Manuel Neuer with no chance with a shot low into the corner. "Bochum had two strong, quick strikers who made life difficult for us. Twice we defended very badly", said Slomka.
After the restart Schalke threw everyone forward in a bid to find an equaliser and had great chances through Özil (53') and Kuranyi (67'), the latter hitting the post with a header. "I've no complaints about my players, they tried everything in the second half," added Slomka.
There was controversy in the 79th minute when referee Knut Kircher opted not to penalise Imhof when he handled the ball in his own penalty area. And Imhof was involved again minutes later when Lincoln went down in the box, only for Kircher to wave play on a second time. "It's a shame when matches are decided by decisions like that. For me they were definite penalties", said Slomka, clearly unhappy with the referee's decisions. And so it remained 2-1 to Bochum. The Royal Blues are now in danger of losing their lead at the top of the table should Bremen win in Bielefeld on Sunday.
Bochum: Drobny - Maltritz, Dabowski, Zdebel, Misimovic, Butscher, Schröder, Grote (Grote 69'), Epalle (Drsek 90'), Gekas, Yahia.
Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha (Kobiashvili 62'), Bordon, Rodriguez, Pander - Hamit Altintop, Ernst, Lincoln - Asamoah (Halil Altintop 62'), Kuranyi, Özil (Larsen 80').
Goals: 0-1 Kuranyi (8'), 1-1 (33') Misimovic, 2-1 Gekas (41')
Attendance: 31,328 (sold out)
Referee: Knut Kircher (Rottenburg)
Yellow cards: Dabrowski, Grote, Maltritz, Zdebel - Kuranyi, Asamoah, Hamit Altintop, Rodriguez
