week 27 - match report

Schalke battle to crucial 2-0 win over Karlsruhe

After a strenuous 93 minutes on Saturday afternoon the Royal Blues were happy to have three points in the bag. Karlsruhe produced a performance that belied their position at the foot of the table, though that was no surprise for Schalke's coaching triumvirate.

Schalke's rejigged defence had never lined up alongside each other before. The loss of Rafinha (suspended), Benedikt Höwedes (muscle strain), Marcelo Bordon (thigh injury) and Carlos Zambrano (bruised foot) meant that Heiko Westermann had to partner Mladen Krstajic in central defence, while Danny Latza was handed his first Bundesliga start, albeit in the unaccustomed position of right-back.

With the threat of relegation hanging over them, Karlsruhe looked to take advantage and began in attacking mood. And when Manuel Neuer was called upon to defuse a great chance for KSC striker Sebastian Freis with just four minutes gone, it was clear the game was far from being a formality. The Schalke coaching team had already given the players sufficient warning before the game. "We told them from the word go that we would have to work very hard today. Karlsruhe are not the pushovers people like to say they are", said Mike Büskens.

The plan devised by visiting coach Edmund Becker worked well in the opening 20 minutes as his team nullified Schalke's attacking efforts – until tireless midfield dynamo Jermaine Jones unhinged the KSC defence with a long ball to Kevin Kuranyi, who headed the opener on 23. Becker was furious with the way the goal came about. "We had said quite clearly that we didn't want to play offside. So it's annoying to go behind to a goal like that."

Now left with no choice but to attack, Karlsruhe battled their way in the Schalke penalty area on several occasions. But once again they were unable to find the net, which Becker put down to a lack of luck and to insufficient determination. Yet the Royal Blues also posed little threat whenever they countered. "Sometimes it was the final ball that was lacking, but our buildup play let us down at times, too", criticised Büskens. This in turn presented Karlsruhe with opportunities to break. "In temperatures like these it hurts to have to switch again and chase back", the Schalke coach explained.

When the Royal Blues finally put the game to bed with ten minutes left, it was as much down to Markus Miller's slip as to the quick-wittedness of Jefferson Farfan. Forced out wide to the edge of the penalty box, the Peru international turned and bent the ball over the KSC keeper's head and into the net from the tightest of angles to seal the second win in two games since Mike Büskens, Youri Mulder and Oliver Reck took charge. "We wanted this hard-fought victory and we got it, so we're delighted", summarised Büskens. For Edmund Becker's men, however, time is slowly running out. "We'll continue to fight to avoid the drop", a defiant KSC boss said, "because it would be fatal to give up on the first division already."

Schalke: Neuer - Latza, Westermann, Krstajic, Pander - Kobiashvili (Engelaar 72'), Jones - Altintop (Rakitic 75') - Farfan (Kenia 87'), Kuranyi, Sanchez
Karlsruhe: Miller - Celozzi, Drpic, Langkamp, Eichner - Mutzel (Kapllani 86'), Aduobe - Timm (Federico 71'), Da Silva, Stindl - Freis (Saglik 65')
Goals: 1-0 Kuranyi (23'), 2-0 Farfan (80')
Referee: Gräfe (Berlin)
Attendance: 61,397
Yellow cards: -