week 14 - match report

First-half finishing sees off Gladbach

Three points were a must and three points were what the Royal Blues got. The first half ended with Schalke 3-1 up against Borussia Mönchengladbach and that's the way it stayed. "We're on the right road. But we haven't got where we want to be just yet", said Fred Rutten after the final whistle.

Schalke's league position meant a home win was essential if they were to stay in contention at the top. Rutten made two changes to the side that lost in Leverkusen last week. Christian Pander began at left-back in place of Levan Kobiashvili, while Ivan Rakitic provided an attacking alternative to Fabian Ernst in midfield.

In the first half Schalke proved considerably more effective than they have been in recent weeks. Kevin Kuranyi may have squandered the first clear-cut opportunity in the third minute, but Halil Altintop at last discovered his shooting boots. The Turkey international had yet to score in the Bundesliga this season and he was quick to make up for lost time. On 17 minutes he opened his account after some fine work by Rakitic and Kuranyi, and then collected a brilliant Orlando Engelaar pass to make it 3-1 on the stroke of half-time.

Altintop's second served to calm Schalke's nerves again. For when Jefferson Farfan picked himself up to convert a penalty with aplomb after 23 minutes, the game looked all but over. Seven minutes later, however, Rob Friend pulled one back for the visitors after running onto a neat through ball by former Schalke player Alexander Baumjohann. "What we did when we had the ball wasn't at all bad. But we gave them open invitations to score when it came to passes and balls in behind the back four", said Gladbach coach Hans Meyer. "The third goal meant we were almost out of it before half-time."

After the interval Kuranyi missed another sitter, and Farfan also declined to add a fourth. "With all the clear-cut chances Farfan created we could have gone further behind", conceded Meyer. Yet the visitors also lacked a cutting edge when openings were carved out for Friend and Markus Marin. Rutten was unhappy that these chances had come about at all. "Gladbach had opportunities to get a second. What's important for me, however, is that we aren't conceding many goals. That shows we're on the right road, though we haven't got where we want to be just yet."

The Schalke boss summed up as follows: "We didn't play as well as we did against Bayern, but we took the chances we created from open play and secured three points. I'm happy with that." Rutten's counterpart Hans Meyer said: "Someone told me we were the first team to come here and play football this season. But I don't know whether it was praise or criticism for being naïve."

Schalke: Neuer - Westermann, Höwedes, Bordon (Krstajic 79'), Pander – Engelaar (Ernst 69'), Jones - Rakitic - Farfan, Kuranyi (Asamoah 74'), Altintop
Mönchengladbach: Gospodarek - Levels (Dorda 46'), Daems, Gohouri, Van den Bergh (Matmour 46') - Paauwe - Alberman (Colautti 70'), Bradley - Baumjohann, Marin – Friend
Goals: 1-0 Altintop (17'), 2-0 Farfan (pen. 23'), 2-1 Friend (30'), 3-1 Altintop (45')
Referee: Drees (Mainz)
Attendance: 61,673 (sold out)
Yellow cards: Jones (2) - Van den Bergh, Levels, Dorda