week 24 - match report

Schalke rally to break down Duisburg defence

After the final whistle Mirko Slomka was a very relieved man: "It was a hard-fought victory", said the Schalke boss after the 2-1 win over MSV Duisburg.

Slomka made two changes to his starting line-up for Schalke's fifth Ruhr derby of the season. As expected, Rafinha and Fabian Ernst returned to the side after sitting out a one-match suspension. Mladen Krstajic (severe bronchitis) and Levan Kobiashvili (muscle trouble) made way and did not even feature in the squad.

Nevertheless the first 45 minutes belonged to the visitors. "We played well in the first half, we were composed and very disciplined", said MSV coach Rudi Bommer. "We didn't just defend well, we also made our presence felt in attack, as we had set out to do." The warning signs were there for Schalke on 15 when Maicon's drive was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Manuel Neuer, and Duisburg did take the lead six minutes later, Blagoy Georgiev capping a fine individual effort with an unstoppable finish.

In contrast, the Royal Blues hardly got going at all. "And when you go a goal behind the spaces get tighter and your legs get heavier", noted Slomka. Chances to equalise were there, but both Jermaine Jones (23') and Halil Altintop (31') failed to take them. "Although we had more of the ball before the break, we weren't forceful enough going forward", analysed the Schalke boss. "We showed no sprinting power, no running off the ball at pace, no speed in going for the second balls." One consequence of this was the introduction of Vicente Sanchez at the beginning of the second half. Slomka: "We hoped he would bring more creativity and one-on-one situations to our play."

The visitors, on the other hand, again sought to frustrate the Royal Blues after the restart. To this end they dropped deep into their own half. Lone striker Claudiu Niculescu harried on the half-way line, the other nine outfield players rarely strayed more than 30 metres from their own goal. As a result, chances for Schalke were initially few and far between, but there were no Duisburg counterthrusts whatsoever. "It worked well for 15 to 20 minutes, but then the Schalke pressure intensified", said Bommer after the final whistle. "We were unable to defend high balls after that."

The Royal Blues took their first genuine chance of the half to restore parity through Kevin Kuranyi on the hour. And with 16 minutes left Heiko Westermann hooked the ball home from close range in the manner of a striker after Gerald Asamoah's header had come back off the bar. "That was hard work. I'm delighted the players mustered all their strength again to break down Duisburg's defensive bulwark", said Slomka, who obviously was much happier than his counterpart Rudi Bommer: "We put in a tremendous amount of effort with no reward. It's a great shame for the players."

Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha, Westermann, Bordon, Pander (Höwedes 87') - Jones, Ernst - Varela (Sanchez 46'), Rakitic - Altintop (Asamoah 69'), Kuranyi
Duisburg: Starke - Avalos, Filipescu, Fernando - Willi, Grlic (Bodzek 73'), Tararache, Caceres (Vrucina 83') - Maicon, Georgiev (Mölders 78') - Niculescu
Referee: Dr Drees (Mainz)
Goals: 0-1 Georgiev (21'), 1-1 Kuranyi (60'), 2-1 Westermann (74')
Attendance: 61,482 (sold out)
Yellow cards: Kuranyi (5/1) - Fernando (5), Niculescu (3)