Fixtures

Red Devils Suffer 4-1 Loss to Schalke

FCK boss Kurz made three changes to his side, naming Rodnei, Sahan, and Shechter for Simunek, Derstroff, and Sukuta-Pasu. Rodnei started alongside Abel in central defense, with Dick and Jessen at full-back, and Sippel in goal. Borysiuk and De Wit anchored midfield, with Sahan and Tiffert on the flanks, and Shechter alongside Wagner up front. Schalke coach Huub Stevens fielded the same starting eleven that defeated Twente Enschede 4-1 in the Europa League clash on Thursday.

The Red Devils roared off the blocks and took the lead early as Rodnei headed a Tiffert free-kick from the right side into the far corner of the goal with only three minutes on the clock. Buoyed by the early goal, Kurz’s men continued to push forward. The hosts dominated possession in the opening spell and displayed some nice openings. Schalke appeared in front of Sippel’s goal for the first time after 13 minutes, but Holtby failed to connect with Draxler’s cross and Sippel was on hand to save the effort. The visitors battled their way into the game and had the next opportunity from a set-piece, but Fuchs directed his free-kick narrowly wide of the left post.

Tiffert combined well with Shechter at the other end, but the Israeli was stopped in the box. The Red Devils showed vigor and passion, but the next chance fell to the visitors. Raul sent a pin-point cross to Huntelaar in front of goal, but the Dutch striker headed the ball across goal.

Schalke had more of the ball midway through the half, but the Red Devils defended well. Huntelaar had the ball in the net on 32 minutes but the goal wasn’t awarded as the Dutch was ruled offside. Kurz’s men grit their teeth and fought back. Wagner hared towards goal and fed Tiffert in the box, but the FCK captain was unable to get his shot on target. The Ruhr valley outfit upped the heat and Holtby leveled the scores with 39 minutes on the clock, firing a 22-yard drive past Sippel and into the net.

The FCK shot-stopper stretched bravely to parry a Farfan free-kick from 20 yards shortly afterwards but had no chance of saving Huntelaar’s thundering shot on 45 minutes. The hosts started confidently and took the lead early but dropped too deep midway through the half, allowing the visitors to turn the game around before the half-time interval.

Schalke continued their onslaught after the break. Raul hit the side netting, before Holtby directed a long-range effort over the bar. Raul added goal number three from a clear-cut Farfan cross six minutes after the restart to enhance the visitors’ lead. The Red Devils seemed shell shocked as Schalke continued to dominate at will. Draxler thundered a shot narrowly wide of the right post and Holtby forced a smart reaction from Sippel. Kurz brought on Swierczok and Wooten shortly after the hour-mark, and Swierczok created FCK’s first second-half chance but dragged his attempt narrowly over the bar. The Polish striker carved out another opportunity, but Hildebrand got down well to save the effort.

It was all one-way traffic and Stevens’ men enhanced their lead when Farfan finished off a neat give-and-go with Holtby to add the fourth goal for the Ruhr valley outfit.