Despite the defeat, those responsible at FC Schalke 04 are taking positive things from the cup game against St. Pauli. On Saturday, the struggling second division team travels to in-form Nurembergen – possibly without Simon Terodde.
The result was wrong. FC lost 1:2 Schalke 04 on Tuesday evening at FC St. Pauli and were eliminated in the second round of the DFB Cup. After the win against Hannover 96 on the last second division match day (3:2), S04 suffered their next defeat. After all: Schalke forced the second division leaders into extra time, but then simply no longer had the necessary courage.
“That’s something we have to work on. It’s not enough to maintain a good level for 70 or 75 minutes,” said new coach Karel Geraerts after his third competitive game as Schalke. Geraerts also took positive things from the game in Hamburg: “We saw a lot of good things in the analysis. The team was very compact and knew very well what they had to do.”
Hechelmann: “The path we have to take”
Sports director André Hechelmann also agreed with his team’s performance: “The team fought. That’s the path we have to take and then we hope that the results will come,” he told the “WAZ”. Striker Sebastian Polter summed up: “We played a very, very good first half. The coach gave us a good plan. In the end you lose the game because of two set pieces. You can defend that better.”
It almost sounds like everything is good at Schalke. But it is not. Polter also knows that: “We still have to see where we’re coming from. We’re not having a good season and we want to improve the situation together with the new coach. We have to recognize the reality and that’s what we’re doing. Then we’ll be back get on track.”
Despite their recent win against Hannover, Schalke are in 16th place in the 2nd Bundesliga with ten points after eleven games and have now been eliminated from the DFB Cup.
Schalke visits strong Nuremberg team
The next difficult task for the Royal Blues is on Saturday (1 p.m.) with an away game at 1. FC Nürnberg. The club is currently in good shape. Of the last eight competitive games, the club only lost against leaders St. Pauli. On Wednesday, FCN won the DFB Cup 3-2 after extra time against Hansa Rostock.
In addition, the Franconians have not lost at all in their own stadium this season. Schalke’s away record, on the other hand, is shocking: S04 have only picked up one point in foreign stadiums so far. “If we want to climb the table, and we do, then we have to win away from home too,” Geraerts also knows.
Use of Simon Terodde questionable
It is still questionable whether striker Simon Terodde will be able to help with the mission of a first away win. The 35-year-old suffered an ankle injury in the game against St. Pauli and had to be substituted after 40 minutes. “If the game were tomorrow, he certainly wouldn’t be there. But he has one more day,” said Geraerts on Thursday.
Dominick Drexler and Assan Ouédraogo, on the other hand, will probably be there again. Both had sat out against St. Pauli due to minor injuries.
Ouédraogo nominated for U17 World Cup
However, Ouédraogo’s personnel could still cause Schalke headaches in the coming weeks. As the club announced on Wednesday, the 17-year-old has been nominated by the DFB for the U17 World Cup and wants to play there. The World Cup will take place in Indonesia from November 10th to December 2nd.
Ouédraogo could be out for Schalke for a few weeks. This is a thorn in the side of sports director Hechelmann, which is why he only wants to release his top talent for the official secondment period. This begins on November 13th and ends on November 21st – the end of the World Cup group phase. It is therefore possible that Schalke will bring Ouédraogo back to Gelsenkirchen after the group games, regardless of how far the U17 national team gets in the tournament.
“It is our duty to put and protect the interests of the club first,” said Hechelmann. Therefore, it should only be decided after the game in Nuremberg whether and when Ouédraogo will travel to Indonesia. According to Hechelmann, after the group phase it should be decided whether the Mülheim native will return to Gelsenkirchen or stay in Indonesia. “The discussions with those responsible at the DFB were very good and characterized by mutual understanding,” said Hechelmann.
Ouédraogo will still be there against Nuremberg and can therefore look forward to a duel between two friendly clubs. A first for him, just like for coach Geraerts, who is well aware of the situation: “There will be a fantastic atmosphere, I’m sure. I’ve heard a lot about this duel. Now I’m looking forward to experiencing it myself may.”
