2nd league on Saturday
Schalke makes a mistake against the second-to-last team – Lautern jumps to third place
Updated on January 18, 2025 – 4:02 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
Mixed feelings at the start of the new second division year. There is likely to be some disillusionment, especially at Schalke 04.
A mixed start to the new year for Schalke 04. On Saturday, Schalke only managed a goalless draw (0-0) against second-to-last Eintracht Braunschweig. Although Braunschweig only had ten men left from the 67th minute. Jannis Nikolaou was shown the red card after an emergency stop.
Things went completely differently for 1. FC Kaiserslautern against SSV Ulm, who took the lead early on with a goal from Philipp Strompf (4th). However, Lautern was able to turn the game around to a 2-1 win in the first half thanks to goals from Marlon Ritter (23rd) and Filip Kaloč (37th). Preußen Münster won against Greuther Fürth 2-1 with a brace from Joshua Mees (10th/90th). Niko Gießelmann (28th) scored to equalize for Fürth.
Schalke 04 made a stuttering start to the second half of the season. Without star newcomer Loris Karius in the squad, the Gelsenkirchen team were unable to convincingly confirm their upward trend with the 0-0 draw at Eintracht Braunschweig – despite having the advantage from the 67th minute onwards.
Goalkeeper Karius was already on the Schalke bench, but was not yet part of the Royal Blues’ official squad. The 31-year-old saw a tough opening phase with no chances to score and with many fouls, in which his new team found it more difficult than the second-to-last team in the table. Lino Tempelmann, who had recently been signed by the Royal Blues, was able to take part in the Lower Saxony team from the start. Another new Schalke loanee, Ron-Thorben Hoffmann, was unable to start in the Eintracht goal due to a clause.
After the break, Schalke became much more active, Mehmet Aydin challenged Braunschweig’s keeper Marko Johansson for the first time (57th). After an emergency stop by Jannis Nikolaou against Moussa Sylla, the hosts had to survive the final phase outnumbered and Schalke missed several chances to score the winning goal.
In front of 42,367 spectators in the Fritz Walter Stadium, the guests were the better team in the early stages and took the lead after just four minutes with a header from Philipp Strompf. Kaiserslautern was only in the game after around 20 minutes and equalized in the 23rd minute through Marlon Ritter. The Ulm team always remained dangerous on the counterattack, but Filip Kaloč managed to give the FCK a 2-1 half-time lead with a remarkable volley in the 37th minute.
After the restart the game petered out. The people of Ulm tried hard, but were given few opportunities. The best chances to equalize went to Maurice Krattenmacher, who only hit the side netting after 54 minutes, and Aaron Keller, who was denied by Kaiserslautern’s keeper Julian Krahl in the 81st minute. On the other hand, Ragnar Ache and Afeez Aremu failed to finally decide the game in FCK’s favor earlier.
In front of 11,791 spectators in the Preußenstadion, Joshua Mees scored both goals in the 10th and 90th minutes for the hosts, who were only able to celebrate one success in front of their own audience in the first half of the season. Niko Gießelmann (28th) scored for the guests, who were outnumbered after just over half an hour due to Simon Asta’s yellow-red card and had to replace their goalkeeper Nils Körber at half-time due to injury. The 28-year-old was between the posts for Fürth in the second division for the first time.
The hosts started the game perfectly and took the lead with a header from Mees following a corner before Gießelmann equalized for the Franconians. Münster had a few chances to score the winning goal, but it was only shortly before the end that Mees scored again with a header to make it 2-1.