Bottom club Darmstadt 98 gave themselves at least another week as a Bundesliga outfit thanks to a last-minute winner from Jerome Gondorf. It was the club’s fifth victory of the season and left the away side with alarm bells ringing. 98 keeper Michael Esser also saved a second-half penalty from Guido Burgstaller.
The Royal Blues, who suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat in Ajax in the Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday, look certain to miss out on a European spot in the league after their eighth defeat away from home of the campaign. Schalke failed to make the most of numerous goalscoring opportunities as their defensive frailties showed.
14 points behind 15th place
Mario Vrancic and Gondorf provided the celebrations with their goals in front of a 17,400 strong crowd. However the Lillies are still 14 points from safety with just five matches remaining. Spaniard Coke had put Schalke back on level terms with his 75th minute header but Thilo Kehrer then saw red just minutes later for his last-ditch challenge.
Darmstadt’s chances of staying up still look extremely low and the staff have already been planning for life in the Bundesliga 2. for a number of weeks now. Their mission will be to bring the club straight back to Germany’s top flight and the signing of former Germany international Kevin Großkreutz is proof of that ambition.
Schalke look vulnerable without captain Höwedes.
Schalke did not look like they were in peak condition just three days after their defeat in Amsterdam and this result will certainly not provide them with any confidence going into the second leg this coming Thursday. Moreover, the Royal Blues took another step away from European qualification, looking vulnerable at the back from the very beginning. Head coach Markus Weinzierl was forced to make changes to the back line ahead of the match due to not having captain Benedikt Höwedes (calf injury), Matija Nastasic (suspension) and Sead Kolasinac (adductor problem) available.
The Schalke defence also responded poorly to going 1-0 down as they continued to look shaky. Marcel Heller’s pace powered him down the right-hand side and he only needed to play the ball across to Vrancic, who effortlessly tapped in his fourth of the season.
Darmstadt keeper Esser outstanding
The favourites went on to dominate and had a number of goalmouth scrambles in front of the 98 net. However Darmstadt keeper Michael Esser brilliantly kept out clear-cut chances from Kehrer, Badstuber and Donis Advdijaj all in the space of four minutes.
The match somewhat lost its impetus after that but Schalke always looked dangerous on the counterattack. Heller was unfortunate to see his curled effort fly just over the S04 bar. Darmstadt did not let their intensity drop after the break and continued to battle for their Bundesliga status. The away side only looked threatening from set-pieces, with Dennis Aogo heading just over the bar shortly after the restart. The referee then pointed to the spot after a foul from Darmstadt captain Aytac Sulu on Daniel Caligiuri but Burgstaller failed to convert and wasted a golden opportunity.
Bottom club Darmstadt 98 gave themselves at least another week as a Bundesliga outfit thanks to a last-minute winner from Jerome Gondorf. It was the club’s fifth victory of the season and left the away side with alarm bells ringing. 98 keeper Michael Esser also saved a second-half penalty from Guido Burgstaller.
The Royal Blues, who suffered a disappointing 2-0 defeat in Ajax in the Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday, look certain to miss out on a European spot in the league after their eighth defeat away from home of the campaign. Schalke failed to make the most of numerous goalscoring opportunities as their defensive frailties showed.
14 points behind 15th place
Mario Vrancic and Gondorf provided the celebrations with their goals in front of a 17,400 strong crowd. However the Lillies are still 14 points from safety with just five matches remaining. Spaniard Coke had put Schalke back on level terms with his 75th minute header but Thilo Kehrer then saw red just minutes later for his last-ditch challenge.
Darmstadt’s chances of staying up still look extremely low and the staff have already been planning for life in the Bundesliga 2. for a number of weeks now. Their mission will be to bring the club straight back to Germany’s top flight and the signing of former Germany international Kevin Großkreutz is proof of that ambition.
Schalke look vulnerable without captain Höwedes.
Schalke did not look like they were in peak condition just three days after their defeat in Amsterdam and this result will certainly not provide them with any confidence going into the second leg this coming Thursday. Moreover, the Royal Blues took another step away from European qualification, looking vulnerable at the back from the very beginning. Head coach Markus Weinzierl was forced to make changes to the back line ahead of the match due to not having captain Benedikt Höwedes (calf injury), Matija Nastasic (suspension) and Sead Kolasinac (adductor problem) available.
The Schalke defence also responded poorly to going 1-0 down as they continued to look shaky. Marcel Heller’s pace powered him down the right-hand side and he only needed to play the ball across to Vrancic, who effortlessly tapped in his fourth of the season.
Darmstadt keeper Esser outstanding
The favourites went on to dominate and had a number of goalmouth scrambles in front of the 98 net. However Darmstadt keeper Michael Esser brilliantly kept out clear-cut chances from Kehrer, Badstuber and Donis Advdijaj all in the space of four minutes.
The match somewhat lost its impetus after that but Schalke always looked dangerous on the counterattack. Heller was unfortunate to see his curled effort fly just over the S04 bar. Darmstadt did not let their intensity drop after the break and continued to battle for their Bundesliga status. The away side only looked threatening from set-pieces, with Dennis Aogo heading just over the bar shortly after the restart. The referee then pointed to the spot after a foul from Darmstadt captain Aytac Sulu on Daniel Caligiuri but Burgstaller failed to convert and wasted a golden opportunity.
