week 2 - match report

3-0 against Bochum - Royal Blues dominate local derby

Schalke claimed a deserved 3-0 victory over VfL Bochum in the mini Ruhr derby on Sunday afternoon. The Royal Blues dominated the 90 minutes to such an extent that the result was never in doubt. "A very good game", said head coach Felix Magath. "We produced a bold, attacking performance."

Schalke, with Brazilian new boy Mineiro in the starting line-up, dictated the play from the off but were unable to break down the solid Bochum rearguard in the opening stages. And so it took until the 24th minute for the VELTINS Arena to erupt in anticipation of a goal – only to fall silent again seconds later. Carlos Zambrano's header from a Farfan corner looked like it was going in, but the ball skimmed the side netting.

With that, the floodgates were open, however, and the Royal Blues began to carve out openings almost by the minute, whereas the visitors had to wait until the 36th minute before Stanislav Sestak popped up in front of Manuel Neuer for the first time. Schalke's superiority was finally reflected in the scoreline six minutes before the interval when Christoph Moritz opened the scoring with his first goal in only his second Bundesliga appearance, a strike that earned the 19-year-old special praise from his manager. "A very cool finish", said Magath, who was almost completely happy not only with Moritz's performance, but also with that of his team-mates.

Seconds before the interval the Royal Blues struck again, Heiko Westermann's stoppage-time effort (45'+1) giving his side a reassuring half-time lead. Bochum coach Marcel Koller, on the other hand, was forced to rethink his tactics. "All week we've been talking about playing courageously. But we didn't do that. And with a performance like the one today you won't get anything at Schalke", said the Swiss coach in recognition of a deserved win for the home side.

The pattern remained much the same after the restart. Bochum showed signs that they were not going to give up without a fight. But their increased efforts did not yield any genuine goalscoring opportunities against a compact Schalke rearguard. And at the other end the Royal Blues neglected to put the game to bed. Kevin Kuranyi had three chances on the break and Westermann hit the post, but the ball didn't find the net.

This did little to dampen the excellent atmosphere inside the VELTINS Arena, however. The Schalke fans urged their team on throughout – and it paid dividends when Jefferson Farfan successfully finished off a break he had started to make it 3-0. The goal sparked jubilation in the stands as it propelled the Royal Blues to the top of the Bundesliga table alongside VfL Wolfsburg.

Schalke: Neuer - Zambrano, Bordon, Höwedes - Moritz, Westermann - Rafinha, Mineiro, Rakitic (Kenia 46') - Farfan, Kuranyi
Bochum: Heerwagen - Pfertzel, Maltritz (Concha 46'), Yahia, Fuchs - Imhof - Dabrowski (Dedic 65'), Azaouagh (Freier 46') - Epalle - Sestak, Klimowicz
Goals: 1-0 Moritz (39'), 2-0 Westermann (45'+1), 3-0 Farfan (76')
Yellow cards: Westermann (2) - Epalle (2), Freier
Attendance: 61,673 (sold out)
Referee: Perl (Munich)