round 2 - match report

Rutten thanks fans after cup win

"We did our job very well and achieved what we set out to do: go through to the next round", said Fred Rutten after the 2-0 home win over Hannover 96 in the second round of the DFB Cup.

Going into the game everything seemed to be in Schalke's favour. Hannover had unsuccessfully applied to the German Football Association (DFB) to have the game postponed due to a flu virus that had decimated their squad, and thus travelled to the VELTINS Arena seriously weakened. Yet that was precisely why Rutten felt it was a "dangerous game" for the Royal Blues. "When you hear your opponents are having problems, there's a risk of you losing your concentration."

And there was no lack of motivation for the visitors. Hannover's 'reserves' put in a remarkable display of running and hard work in a bid to avoid a demoralising defeat and, at the same time, stake a claim for a regular first-team place. This they did very well - but there was to be no cup upset. "I have to pay my team a huge compliment. Tactically we were excellent and we played with lots of courage", said Hannover coach Dieter Hecking. "As a result we were able to interrupt Schalke's flow for long periods."

Schalke were left with dead ball situations to exploit their strengths. "We had to be very patient, but we still had one or two chances in the first half, albeit only from set pieces", said Rutten. The Royal Blues came close to scoring from not one but four Christian Pander free-kicks, but Heiko Westermann (33') and Kevin Kuranyi (35') were denied by the excellent Robert Enke, while two other efforts by the Schalke left-back (37' and 41') missed the target  by a whisker.

The visitors registered their only attempt on goal five minutes into the second half. But this time it was the turn of young Schalke keeper Ralf Fährmann to shine as he defused Frank Fahrenhorst's header. "I don't want to use the word 'harmless' because the lads don't deserve that. But to have had a chance of going through, we would have had to create more sparks in attack", said Hecking. "But even with what is probably our strongest team we couldn't do that when we played here on the opening day."

As the game wore on, gaps began to appear in the Hannover bulwark. And they were found by Heiko Westermann, who converted passes from Fabian Ernst (56') and Rafinha (78') with astounding composure to give Schalke a thoroughly deserved 2-0 victory. "You want to hear some proper praise? Okay, Heiko Westermann played very well", joked Rutten after the final whistle. The Dutchman also had words of praise for more than 50,000 other Royal Blues. "The support they gave the team was incredible. And for that, I'd genuinely like to say thank you."

Indeed, there was repeated demonstrative applause from the crowd for good pieces of play or encouragement when things didn't go right straightaway. Buoyed by the support, the players' confidence grew visibly. Even so, Rutten wasn't entirely satisfied. "I know I'm very critical. But we still need to work at playing with pace when we've got the ball. What was good again, however, is that we didn't lose our shape in possession", he continued.

The visitors were able to leave the VELTINS Arena with their heads held high. "I'm very pleased that we were able to trouble the league leaders for much of the game", said Hecking. "The lads who were ill on the couch today will have seen how the youngsters gave their all. That's what we have to do if we want to hold our own against the top sides."

Schalke: Fährmann - Rafinha, Bordon, Krstajic, Pander - Jones (Engelaar 57') - Westermann (Altintop 82'), Ernst - Farfan (Rakitic 79'), Kuranyi, Sanchez
Hannover: Enke - Herrmann, Eggimann, Vinicius, Rausch - Balitsch, Fahrenhorst - Stajner, Pinto (Yankov 83'), Krebs (Yigitusagi 79') - Hanke (Zizzo 72')
Goals: 1-0 Westermann (56'), 2-0 Westermann (78')
Referee: Drees (Mainz)
Attendance: 50,378
Yellow cards: Rafinha, Jones - Krebs, Fahrenhorst