week 17 - match report

Nine-man Schalke hold on for 1-1 draw in Hoffenheim

Schalke 04 secured a 1-1 draw against 1899 Hoffenheim in a turbulent match in front of 26,330 fans at the Carl Benz Stadium in Mannheim on Sunday. Gerald Asamoah gave the Royal Blues the lead in the 40th minute, only for Selim Teber to equalise on 72. The result sees Schalke end the first half of the season in seventh place with 27 points.

"Right from the start I had the feeling we would win today. And the chance was there, too", said head coach Fred Rutten. "Until Jermaine Jones was sent off we kept our shape well and closed down the spaces. But our game was over after that. The players worked well today. It's a shame we only got a point."

Rutten made just one change to the side that beat Hertha BSC Berlin last week, Halil Altintop replacing the injured Kevin Kuranyi (thigh trouble) in attack. The 4-3-3 system remained unchanged, however, producing a match-up between teams with similar approaches.

Schalke looked a very compact unit from the off, leaving little space between the lines and tackling with the necessary aggression, a strategy that caused Hoffenheim a number of problems to begin with. "We struggled to get going at all. Schalke were well organised in the middle", explained Ralf Rangnick.

The Hoffenheim boss saw his side give the ball away repeatedly, allowing the Royal Blues to launch several rapid counterthrusts. But both Gerald Asamoah (twice) and Halil Altintop squandered good chances to put Schalke ahead in the opening quarter of an hour. "After that it was an even game", said Rutten.

Manuel Neuer was called into action just once in the first half hour when he got across well to keep out a 19th minute Salihovic free-kick. In a fast-paced encounter both sides created some really good chances in the final 15 minutes of the half. Fabian Ernst missed the first of them on 31, and then Demba Ba twice manoeuvred himself into promising shooting positions.

Schalke finally opened the scoring five minutes before the break, however, and it was a goal their disciplined performance fully deserved. Halil Altintop slipped a perfect through ball to Asamoah, who found the net with a well-placed shot, the 30 year-old striker's third competitive goal in a row.

After the interval the game descended into a battle, with fouls committed by both sides. Referee Peter Gagelmann issued several cautions in a bid to regain control of the proceedings, but his decision-making wasn't always the best. On 58 minutes, for example, Jermaine Jones was shown a second yellow card for an alleged foul on Luiz Gustavo when it was clear even without the benefit of the television replays that the Schalke number 13 had played the ball. "The decision was wrong", argued Rutten, and he wasn't the only one. "If you know Jermaine, you know how good he is at winning the ball."

Up to that point the home side had hardly had a look in, with their passing, in particular, lacking precision. But a man to the good they stepped up the pressure and the equaliser, when it came, was not unmerited, Selim Teber converting a free-kick from 25 minutes in the 72nd minute.

And when Orlando Engelaar was sent off for a second bookable offence ten minutes from time, Schalke were pegged back in their own half. Hoffenheim carved out a chance for Salihovic and then two for Vedad Ibisevic, but were unable to mount a genuine threat. "We came up with tactical solutions even when we were a man down", said Rutten. "The players did a really good job."

Hoffenheim: Haas - Beck, Jaissle, Compper, Ibertsberger - Vorsah (Luiz Gustavo 46'), Weis, Salihovic - Obasi (Teber 49'), Ibisevic, Ba (Wellington 90')
Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha, Höwedes, Krstajic, Westermann - Ernst - Jones, Engelaar - Farfan (Rakitic 90'+3), Altintop (Bordon 83'), Asamoah (Kobiashvili 63')
Goals: 0-1 Asamoah (40'), 1-1 Teber (72')
Referee: Gagelmann (Bremen)
Attendance: 26,300 (sold out)
Red cards (second yellow): Jones (persistent foul play 57'), Engelaar (persistent foul play 80')
Yellow cards: Luiz Gustavo (5/2), Teber (3) - Ernst (4), Rafinha (5/1), Asamoah