Round 2 - Report
Cup run ends after 6-0 debacle in Frankfurt
Schalke's dreams of reaching the DFB Cup final in Berlin fell apart last night after a 6-0 second-round defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt. Goals from Meier (28') and Huggel (30') in first half and Spycher (64'), Meier again (68'), Copado (79') and Ochs (86') in the second ensured this season's cup campaign ended in disaster for the Royal Blues.
Coach Ralf Rangnick made several changes to the side which drew 0-0 in Wolfsburg at the weekend. Levan Kobiashvili switched to defence in place of the injured Mladen Krstajic, with Zlatan Bajramovic filling his position on the left side of midfield. Darío Rodriguez was replaced by Tomasz Waldoch in central defence, while Ebbe Sand traded places with Sören Larsen to partner Kevin Kuranyi in attack.
Both sides began the game cautiously, but after the first ten minutes the Royal Blues increasingly gained control of the proceedings, stifling much of the home side's play. The first two Schalke chances fell to Sand with a shot on the turn (16') and Kuranyi with a header that bounced narrowly wide of the target (19'). And moments later, after the Frankfurt rearguard had only half-cleared the ball, a magnificent 25-metre volley by Bajramovic sailed just over the crossbar.
Yet all of a sudden disaster befell the Royal Blues within the space of just two minutes. After a low drive by Bajramovic had been saved by Nikolov, Frankfurt launched a counterattack. Ioannis Amanatidis received the ball in a central position just outside the Schalke penalty area and slipped it to the right into the path of the advancing Alexander Meier, who gave Frank Rost no chance with a low shot into the far corner of the goal.
Just two minutes later Christoph Spycher marched unchallenged down the left flank and into the Schalke box before dispatching a cross to the back post, where his Swiss compatriot Benjamin Huggel prodded the ball home from close range. And apart from a cross which Nikolov nicked off the head of Bajramovic, that was the last of the action in the first half.
In a bid to turn the game around Rangnick introduced a third striker in the shape of Sören Larsen for Tomasz Waldoch after the interval, Christian Poulsen replacing Waldoch in central defence. And in the opening quarter of an hour of the second half the Royal Blues applied more pressure than a more cautious Frankfurt team, fashioning opportunities through long shots by Bajramovic (53') and Lincoln (55') and a decent header by Larsen (62').
But then another double strike by the home side sealed Schalke's fate. First Meier played a through ball down the right to Francisco Copado, whose square pass was comfortably dispatched past Rost by Spycher (64'). And then an almost identical move produced Frankfurt's fourth four minutes later. Again it was Copado down the right who squared the ball, this time to the far post to Meier, who stabbed the ball over the line from close range.
And as if that weren't bad enough, it was to prove an evening when the Royal Blues couldn't even score from the penalty spot. After Sand had been fouled in the area substitute Gustavo Varela grabbed the ball – and smashed it straight over the crossbar. Schalke's morale was completely broken and Frankfurt went on to produce a dazzling display of football in the final twenty minutes, adding a fifth through the outstanding Copado with a diving header from a volleyed cross by Jones and then a sixth by Patrick Ochs from close range.
While the euphoric home crowd celebrated a win which took their side into the last 16 of the competition, the Schalke team trudged dejectedly over to the travelling contingent to apologise for what was a disastrous performance. Little time remains for fans and players to mourn the defeat, though, as the next two big clashes are only just around the corner. On Saturday the Royal Blues travel to SV Hamburg for a top-of-the-table encounter, while on Tuesday they entertain Fenerbahce in the Champions League.
