week 3 - match report

Royal Blues fortunate to take point from Hoffenheim

Schalke followed up their rousing 3-0 win over VfL Bochum last week with a rather weak performance at 1899 Hoffenheim on Friday evening. But because Felix Magath's men kept a clean sheet, they were at least able to come away with a point.

 The Royal Blues showed just one change as Vasileios Pliatsikas was preferred to Ivan Rakitic and handed the task of stifling the creative talents of Hoffenheim's Carlos Eduardo in defensive midfield.

As on Schalke's last (and first) outing away to "Hoffe", then at their temporary home in Mannheim, the 31,150 spectators at the Rhine Neckar Arena in Sinsheim witnessed more of a battle than a footballing spectacle. Schalke ended last December's encounter with nine men. This time there were four bookings for each side. "I don't know how many fouls there were, especially in the second half. It was impossible for the game to get going", said captain Heiko Westermann, neatly summing up what was by and large a scrappy affair.

 Although the Royal Blues put together the more structured play to begin with, the home side wrested control of the proceedings with a quarter of an hour gone. Despite pinning Schalke back in their own half, however, they were unable to produce a goal. Afterwards Magath said his side had been fortunate to come away with a point. "We put in a poor performance against a very good Hoffenheim team. We have our goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to thank for ensuring it ended in a draw", he emphasised. The recipient of the praise saw the positive side. "We didn't have any clear-cut chances. So we can't complain if we still pick up a point away from home", Neuer explained.

 At the beginning of the second half Magath tried to liven up his attack by introducing Levan Kenia in a bid to make it three wins in a row. But Hoffenheim were having none of it. "They played as if they had only just come up", said Magath. "From that point on we were unable to relieve the pressure."

 Warm words that did little to brighten the mood of the Hoffenheim coach. "We repeatedly forced Schalke into mistakes and created a host of good chances, some of them very good", stressed Ralf Rangnick. "But we were either just centimetres away from the goal we wanted so badly or our finishing lacked that cutting edge." With three games played his side are still without a win. Yet Rangnick was keen to point to a trend: "If we keep up this tireless running and aggression, we won't have to wait long for our first three-point haul."

Hoffenheim: Hildebrand - Beck, Simunic, Compper, Eichner - Vorsah (Ba 46'), Ibertsberger (Weis 76') - Carlos Eduardo, Salihovic - Obasi, Ibisevic (Maicosuel 83')
Schalke: Neuer - Rafinha, Bordon, Zambrano, Höwedes - Mineiro - Moritz, Pliatsikas (Kenia 46'), Westermann - Farfan, Kuranyi
Goals: -
Yellow cards: Vorsah (2), Salihovic, Eichner, Obasi - Pliatsikas, Zambrano, Höwedes, Bordon
Attendance: 30,150 (sold out)
Referee: Weiner (Giesen)