First round - match report
Schalke take giant step towards group stage
Schalke 04 have made a successful start to the 2008/09 UEFA Cup campaign. The Royal Blues won 4-1 at APOEL Nicosia in their first round, first leg tie. Heiko Westermann (24'), Ivan Rakitic (35'), Vicente Sanchez (40') and Halil Altintop (87') got the goals at the GSP Stadium, Nenad Mirosavljevic (71') replied for the home side.
Head coach Fred Rutten made four changes to the side that contested the Ruhr derby last weekend. Replacements were needed for the suspended Fabian Ernst, Jermaine Jones and Christian Pander and the injured Kevin Kuranyi (hip flexor muscle). Levan Kobiashvili came in at left-back for Pander, Orlando Engelaar and Ivan Rakitic replaced Ernst and Jones, and Vicente Sanchez got the nod in attack. The Uruguay international rotated on the flanks with Jefferson Farfan, while Gerald Asamoah operated in the middle.
Watched by 200 travelling fans in a crowd of around 6,500 at the GSP Stadium, the two teams probed each other for the first ten minutes before APOEL pressed Schalke for a ten-minute spell without any joy. The Royal Blues carried out Rutten's instructions to give APOEL no space well, though they neglected to get the ball forward quickly enough on winning possession in midfield.
But that was to change in the 24th minute. Vicente Sanchez fed Heiko Westermann, who hit the target from just outside the box. From then on Schalke were quick to switch from defence to attack and repeatedly overran the Cypriot side. The second goal resulted from one such move. Heiko Westermann knocked a through ball to Ivan Rakitic, who played a one-two with Farfan before netting from the edge of the area.
Five minutes later it was 3-0. Kobiashvili's cross was headed on by Westermann to Sanchez, whose shot was deflected past APOEL keeper Michalis Morfis by defender Altin Haxhi. The home side had been in disarray from the moment Farfan and Sanchez swapped flanks midway through the first half, the Peruvian moving to the left, the Uruguayan to the right.
In contrast, Schalke keeper Ralf Fährmann enjoyed a quiet evening in the first half and was called into action just twice, both times in the 42nd minute.
The pattern remained the same after the interval, with the exception of a four minute spell in the second half. After 67 minutes Jost Broerse hit the crossbar and 60 seconds later Fährmann had to intervene to defuse Haxhi's whipped-in cross. But there was nothing he could do three minutes later when substitute Nenad Mirosavljevic pulled one back for the hosts.
That phase apart, the Royal Blues controlled the game, though they were unable to capitalise on the chances that opened up on the break. Not until three minutes from the end did they find the net again. Substitute Halil Altintop collected a pass from Farfan and fired home to make it 4-1.
The win leaves Fred Rutten's men in a great position for the return leg in just over a fortnight's time (Thursday, October 2, 1815 CET), when the Royal Blues entertain APOEL at the VELTINS Arena.
APOEL: Morfis - Poursaitides (Alexandrou 63'), Kontis, Christoy, Haxhi - Morais, Broerse - Kosowski (Onwachi 82'), Riberio, Charalambides - Zewlakow (Mirosavljevic 63')
Schalke: Fährmann - Rafinha, Bordon, Krstajic (Höwedes 60'), Kobiashvili - Westermann, Engelaar - Rakitic - Farfan, Asamoah (Altintop 73'), Sanchez (Lovenkrands 81')
Goals: 0-1 Westermann (24'), 0-2 Rakitic (35'), 0-3 Sanchez (40'), 1-3 Mirosavljevic (71'), 1-4 Altintop (87')
Attendance: 6,500
Referee: Malik (Poland)
Yellow cards: Alexandrou - Farfan
