Zalazar with a decisive goal
Schalke 04 managed to get promoted directly back to the Bundesliga. The Royal Blues, who had to go into the second division last year after only 16 points as the bottom of the table, won 3-2 (0-2) against FC St. Pauli on Saturday evening and with 62 points they can no longer come from one of the first both places are ousted.
The game got off to a bad start for the “Knappen”, who quickly fell behind after a brace from Igor Matanovic (9th/17th minute). But Simon Terodde (47th/71st) with his 28th and 29th goals of the season and Rodrigo Zalazar (78th) turned the duel for Gelsenkirchen.
In addition to Terodde, the top scorer, coach Mike Büskens also played a major role in this success. When he took office in early March as interim coach and successor to Dimitrios Grammozis, belief in promotion returned. The 54-year-old, who took over the team in sixth place, has seven wins in eight games.
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On the other hand, Herbstmeister St. Pauli has said goodbye to the promotion race despite the early double strike after the sixth game in a row without a win. With a three point gap to the second HSV and the third Darmstadt and the significantly worse goal difference, there are only theoretical chances. Werder Bremen can also advance to second place with a win on Sunday in Aue. In the 81st minute, Hamburg’s Marcel Beifus saw a red card after a rude foul, while his teammate Matanovic saw a yellow card in injury time.
As in the 1: 4 two weeks ago at the same place against Bremen, the great expectations made things difficult for Schalke. In the presence of the Revierclub legends “Eurofighter”, who celebrated their 25th anniversary this weekend after the UEFA Cup triumph in 1997, they were close to a dream start. Already in the 1st minute, goalscorer Terodde appeared alone in front of the opposing goal after a mistake by defender Beifus, but was denied by guest keeper Dennis Smarsch.
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But the “Kiezkicker”, weakened by various corona cases, kept a cool head in the heated stadium atmosphere and immediately took the first chance. Jackson Irvine heeled a pass from Leart Paqarada to Matanovic, who put the ball ahead with a shot from the turn. When the only 19-year-old attacker scored again just eight minutes later after another pass from Irvine and a subsequent solo, Schalke was sobered.
Nonetheless, the league leaders reacted positively and, driven by their fans, pressed the Hamburg goal. Despite all his zeal, he was careless with his opportunities. Dominick Drexler and Terodde (33rd) missed the possible goal in a questionable manner after a cross from Marius Bülter.
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A penalty whistle from referee Marco Fritz shortly after the restart revived Schalke. This time Terodde did not miss this chance to score and converted safely. That was the beginning of another phase of pressure for the hosts. The guest coverage did not withstand the growing pressure for long. Terodde was there again and turned the home arena into a madhouse.
However, Zalazar, who had just come on as a substitute, provided the highlight and final point. After a pass from Bülter, the joker plucked up courage and perfected Schalke’s luck with a powerful shot under the bar.
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