week 33 - match report

Schalke off the top after 2-0 defeat in Dortmund

Schalke's worst nightmare came agonisingly true on Saturday afternoon. Not only did the Royal Blues go down 2-0 to Dortmund the Ruhr derby, they were also knocked off the top of the table by VfB Stuttgart. "It's a bitter pill for us to swallow", said a visibly shaken Mirko Slomka after the final whistle.

The Schalke boss made two changes to the side that beat Nürnberg, Mesut Özil regaining his place on the back of a strong performance after coming on as a substitute last week and fit-again Mladen Krstajic returning to central defence.

In an eventful opening period the Royal Blues more than held their own. Alexander Frei may have had the first chance of the game after just 21 seconds, but after that the bulk of the action took place in the Dortmund penalty area. And the goals that Schalke were looking for began to come elsewhere, with rivals Stuttgart and Bremen both conceding early.

Slomka's team were visibly buoyed by these scorelines. "We played some neat flowing football in the first half", said the Schalke boss with some justification. But the 39-year-old also identified the deficit in this phase of the game that ultimately contributed to the defeat: "We weren't forceful enough, we didn't attack the crosses with necessary determination. And we failed to play the ball into the spaces we were creating."

The goal that turned the game arrived just before half-time, seconds after Mesut Özil had been denied by Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller when in a promising position. And just as the Royal Blues looked to mount another attack, Christoph Metzelder won the ball on the halfway line and struck a textbook cross to Frei, who steered the ball past Neuer for the opening goal.

This left Schalke with everything to do in the second half. As was to be expected, Dortmund dropped deep into their own half, playing with great passion and looking to waste time whenever there was a foul, the aim being, of course, to stop their archrivals winning the league. The Royal Blues worked hard in a bid to turn things round, but without any luck. As Slomka pointed out: "In the second half we were a bit impatient. And the risk we took of playing with two central strikers didn't pay off." As the game wore on Schalke were forced to throw more men forward, which left the home side space to launch dangerous counterthrusts. And when a Metzelder shot was deflected to the unmarked Ebi Smolarek with five minutes left, the Poland international tucked the ball away with a cool finish. With that, the game was over.

The Royal Blues were already aware during the second half that a defeat would see them lose their advantage at the top of the table. Though Werder Bremen slipped to a surprising 2-1 defeat at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, Stuttgart came from behind twice to win 3-2 in Bochum, a result which saw Schalke drop down into second place. "We've been top since Week 20, so to surrender our lead on the penultimate day of the season is pretty tough to take", said Slomka. "I really feel for the players. They've been superb and worked so incredibly hard to win the title."

Schalke's championship chances are now very slim, with Stuttgart needing only to beat Energie Cottbus at home to claim the title. Were they to draw, the Royal Blues would have to beat Arminia Bielefeld by four clear goals to go past them. In the improbable event of Stuttgart losing to Cottbus, a draw would not be enough.

Yet despite all the disappointment Schalke must not lose sight of one key objective, and that is protecting second place and thus securing direct qualification for the Champions League, even though they deserve more.

Dortmund: Weidenfeller - C. Metzelder, Brzenska, Wörns, Dede - Kruska - Kringe, Tinga (71. Gordon) - Pienaar (71. Sahin) - Smolarek, Frei (83. Valdez)

Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha ( 73. Larsen), Bordon, Krstajic, Pander - Hamit Altintop, F. Ernst - Lincoln - Asamoah (63. Halil Altintop), Özil  (79. Kobiashvili), Kuranyi

Goals: 1-0 Frei (44'), 2-0 Smolarek (85')

Attendance: 80,708 (sold out)

Yellow cards: Brzenska, Dede, Weidenfeller, Smolarek -  Ernst, Hamit Altintop, Krstajic, Halil Altintop

Referee: Fandel (Kyllburg)