S04 wins thanks to Becker
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FC Schalke 04 has secured the autumn championship in the 2nd Bundesliga. On matchday 16, the Royal Blues won the home game against 1. FC Nürnberg 1-0. The pursuers SV Elversberg and Darmstadt 98 were also able to win and remain close to Schalke. The SVE won 1-0 against the struggling Fortuna Düsseldorf and the Lilies also beat Preußen Münster 1-0.
Coach Miron Muslic’s team, which has been undefeated in five games, narrowly won the game against 1. FC Nürnberg in the duel between the old champions. This means that the Reviereleven extended their lead at the top of the table to 37 points and remained without conceding a goal for the ninth time. The Nuremberg team, who had not won in Gelsenkirchen for more than 32 years, missed the jump into the top half of the table. In front of 62,077 visitors in the sold-out Schalke Arena, Vitalie Becker scored the winning goal for the hosts (52nd minute). Just last week, the 20-year-old scored his first goal in professional football in Düsseldorf.
Supported by a gigantic choreography from their supporters, the hosts, who competed in their special dark green jerseys, met a stubborn opponent who knew how to repeatedly put pinpricks against Schalke’s compact defense in the transition game. Ron Schallenberg, an experienced player, also returned to the team and provided additional stability in the defensive midfield. It was only in the second period that an opening pass from Kenan Karaman to Becker gave Schalke the celebrated lead. The left-back scored for the second time in a short space of time.
Fortuna Düsseldorf misses liberation – Elversberg remains second
Fortuna Düsseldorf didn’t score a breakthrough in the last away game of the year and is still deep in the relegation battle. Table 17. lost 0:1 (0:0) to SV Elversberg. By finishing second, the Saarlanders consolidated their role as FC Schalke 04’s first pursuers. Substitute 18-year-old Otto Stange scored the goal of the day in the 79th minute. For Fortuna it was already the seventh defeat in the ninth competitive game under coach Markus beginning.
In front of 9,304 spectators in the sold-out stadium at Kaiserlinde, both teams played an entertaining football game with chances on both sides, despite the fog and a goalless first half. Elversberg started the game well, but lost the lead thanks to goal scorer Younes Ebnoutalib and Bambasé Conté. After half an hour the guests fought their way into the game. The better chances were now on Fortuna’s side, who with a bit of luck could have even taken the lead. Jesper Daland’s header was denied by SVE keeper Nicolas Kristof (36′), and shortly before the break his shot hit the crossbar (45′).
The game remained lively even after the break. Elversberg had more possession of the ball, but the guests repeatedly managed to appear dangerous in front of the Saarland goal. Christian Rasmussen had two good opportunities (54th/62nd) in front of Kristof. Elversberg remained just as dangerous. The ball landed via Tom Zimmerschied to substitute Stange, whose ball spun into the far corner.
Darmstadt 98 remains third after a win against Münster
SV Darmstadt 98 also remains at the top of the promotion battle. In the last home game of the year, the Lilies won 1-0 (0-0) against Preußen Münster. In front of 17,589 spectators in the stadium at Böllenfalltor, Killian Corredor used a rebound with his head to score the decisive goal in the 56th minute. With the success, the Hessians moved back to third place in the table.
The hosts created several good chances in the first half without scoring anything. In the 14th minute, after a corner, the ball hit the crossbar twice in a row: first Patric Pfeiffer headed it onto the crossbar, then Isac Lidberg’s follow-up shot ended there. While Darmstadt kept the pressure constantly high after an initial warm-up phase before the break, the guests were committed but not dangerous. That should change after the restart: Münster came back more courageously and pushed for the equalizer with a lot of energy after falling behind. But Joshua Mees missed the best of several chances with a shot against the post in the 79th minute.
