round 3 - match report

Royal Blues out of cup after penalty shoot-out

FC Schalke 04 missed out in their bid to reach the quarter-final of the DFB Cup last night, going down 5-3 on penalties at VfL Wolfsburg after the game had ended 1-1 after normal time. In front of 25,831 spectators at the Volkswagen Arena Mladen Krstajic saw his spot kick saved by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio, while the home side converted all five of their penalties. Striker Peter Lovenkrands gave the Royal Blues a 27th minute lead, only for Sergej Karimov to equalise in the last minute.

"For much of the game it didn't look as if Wolfsburg would come back into it, but in view of their courageous showing in the closing stages the equaliser, though frustrating for us, was not undeserved", said Mirko Slomka after a dramatic cup-tie.
For the first competitive game of 2008 the Schalke boss fielded the same eleven players who started the warm-up match against FC Basel. Tactically, the Royal Blues adopted a 4-3-3 system, with Gerald Asamoah and Peter Lovenkrands on the flanks and Halil Altintop at centre-forward. New signings Ze Roberto and Vicente Sanchez began on the substitutes' bench.

The game kicked off ten minutes late on account of traffic congestion on the roads leading to the ground. This involuntary delay seemed to affect Schalke more than the home side. The Royal Blues struggled to get going in the first 20 minutes, their inaccurate passing to the strikers and mix-ups in defence handing the advantage to the hosts.
A bold Wolfsburg side won the majority of the tackles to begin with and registered their first clear-cut opportunity after just three minutes through Edin Dzeko, but the striker missed the target from close range. "In the opening stages we allowed them to create far too much pressure", grumbled Slomka after the final whistle.

Not until some 20 minutes had elapsed did Schalke, who consistently sought to play down the flanks, find their way into the game. And so it came as no surprise when a move down the right produced the opening goal on 27 minutes. Halil Altintop created space for himself in the penalty area before playing the ball into the middle, where Peter Lovenkrands made it 1-0 to the Royal Blues.The goal seemed to lift a burden off Schalke's shoulders. Their passing play improved as they gradually took control, fashioning further chances for Altintop (29') and Fabian Ernst (32'). "We created some good openings in both halves, but unfortunately we neglected to add a second", analysed Slomka.

The beginning of the second half was dominated by the Royal Blues as Ernst and Jones imposed themselves on midfield and the defence steadily got a grip of the proceedings. Two forward bursts by Rafinha and Heiko Westermann, who also hit the post in the 62nd minute, had the alarm bells ringing in the Wolfsburg defence.
It was end-to-stuff after that, with the clearest opportunities falling to Lovenkrands (67') and Dzeko (70'), whose shot produced a brilliant save by Manuel Neuer. But the Royal Blues suffered a bitter blow in the final minute when Karimov grabbed an equaliser from a corner to take the game into extra-time.

Though both sides gave their all in an exciting final 30 minutes, neither was able to mount a serious threat on goal. Schalke looked the livelier in the second period of extra-time, but apart from a chance for Vicente Sanchez their efforts proved fruitless, and the game went to a penalty shoot-out. And while the home side converted all five of their penalties, Mladen Krstajic was denied by Wolfsburg keeper Diego Benaglio.

VfL Wolfsburg: Benaglio - Riether (Krzynowek 69'), Simunek, Madlung, Karimov - Gentner, Josué, Santana (Dejagah 69') - Marcelinho - Dzeko, Grafite (Ljuboja 75')

FC Schalke 04: Neuer - Rafinha, Bordon, Krstajic, Westermann - Jones, Ernst, Rakitic (Kobiashvili 76') - Asamoah (Varela 87'), Altintop, Lovenkrands (Sanchez 70')

Goals: 0-1 Lovenkrands (27'), 1-1 Karimov (90')

Penalty shoot-out: 1-0 Marcelinho, 1-1 Rafinha, 2-1 Gentner, 2-2 Westermann, 3-2 Dzeko, Krstajic misses, 4-2 Ljuboja, 4-3 Altintop, 5-3 Karimov

Yellow cards: Santana, Josué – Jones

Referee: Knut Kircher (Rottenburg)

Attendance: 25,831