Schalke Stalemate Stalls Werder Surge

First Team
Monday, 24.04.2006 / 08:06

The 31st match day of the Bundesliga season ended with the brabbest of results for Werder who drew 0:0 with Schalke 04. The incident on the pitch at the Weser Stadium though was all but drab although the result was of little real help to either side.

The 31st match day of the Bundesliga season ended with the brabbest of results for Werder who drew 0:0 with Schalke 04. The incident on the pitch at the Weser Stadium though was all but drab although the result was of little real help to either side. 42,100 spectators saw an extremely exciting tie from the outset at a high tempo with numerable goal chances for both sides.

 

Thomas Schaaf made only one change to the side which drew 1:1 with Wolfsburg. Daniel Jensen took over from Petri Pasanen in the starting eleven filling in on the right side of midfield meaning Patrick Owomoyela could return to his favoured position of right full back. Schalke had the better of the opening phases of a game that could prove vital in the battle for third place. The visitors found themselves running into a tightly packed Werder defensive wall. It was the Green-Whites who had the first chance on goal. After a long ball forward, Miroslav Klose laid off to Johan Micoud on the edge of the box but the Frenchman was denied before he could get his shot away (7').

 

Having survived the early stages, Werder took more and more control of the situation and began to make a point of who the real boss within their own wall's is. Chance upon chance was the result. Naldo climbed highest to nod down a Micoud corner and Owomoyela tested the reflexes of one time Bremen keeper Frank Rost (17'). The Micoud put Klose through with a well timed pass but Rost cut the angle and the striker couldn't get a full contact on the ball (20'). Within seconds the Schalke keeper had to turn a long distance shot away for a corner. Christian Schulz launched a long free-kick from the middle towards Frank Fahrenhorst but the ball sailed wide of the mark (25').

 

Four yellow cards and a bit of rough

 

In the mean time the home side had been forced to replace Jurica Vranjes with a suspected ligament tear. Petri Pasanen replaced Vranjes, slipping into the full back position and pushing Owomoyela into the right wing position and Daniel Jensen going central. The game then began to heat up yet more on the half hour. The number of fouls increased and referee Knut Kircher produced four yellow cards - three against Werder players (Micoud, Schulz and Fahrenhorst) and one for rodriguez. After a foul by Micoud on Lincoln, something of a 'Handbags at ten paces' situation occured and the Frenchman was lucky not to have been punished further when he pushed his hand into the Brazilian midfielders face.

 

Then it was time to play football again. Nelson Valdez came tlose to giving Werder the lead with a header after Rost misjudged a corner (35'). The Schalke keeper got lucky again after a Micoud cross but Rodriguez could cut out Valdez (43'). Schalke had two chances through playmaker Lincoln. First the flying Tim Wiese turned a free-kick over the crossball (39'), and then the Brazilian came close again with a volley (44').

 

Schalke made the better start to the second half, after substituting Altintop for Larsen to give the visitors a little more bite in attack. Still, Werder had the better openings with most of the danger coming through Micoud. The playmaker played in Jensen who was stoped at the last minute by Bajramovic who cleared for a corner (49'). After another Micoud pass, Valdez played a ball in behind the Schakle defence but Owomoyela arrived a touch too late (60'). At the other end, Bajramovic broke into the box from a Lincoln pass but the long outstretched leg of Naldo denied the left-back a 100% chance (65'). The flow of the game began to patter out with Schaaf's eleven lacking on ideas allowing Schalke to come again in the final fifteen minutes.

 

Schulz leg saves the points

 

The next major outcry was when Daniel Jensen appeared to bring Lincoln down just inside the penalty area but the referee allowed play to continue (76'). Two minutes later Weise cleared the danger from a Bordon header and Larsen was off target from distance. On his back, Christian Schulz somehow got a leg out to deny a sitter for Kuranyi (88') and saved the point that his team had at the very least deserved.

 

The 0:0 draw has a good and a bad side for Werder. Third place and a Champions League qualification place is now withing touching distance with a six point cushion still in their favour. With HSV four points ahead in second place, Werder can no longer control their own destiny in beating HSV to the finishing post.

 

Johnnie Muldoon

 

Werder Bremen – FC Schalke 04 0:0

 

Werder Bremen: Wiese - Owomoyela, Fahrenhorst, Naldo, Schulz - Vranjes (21. Pasanen) - D. Jensen, Borowski - Micoud - Klose (59. Klasnic), Valdez; auf der Bank: Vander, Andreasen, Lagerblom

 

FC Schalke 04: Rost - Rafinha, Bordon, Rodriguez (77. Kläsener), Kobiashvili - Poulsen - Ernst, Bajramovic (86. Varela) - Altintop (46. Larsen), Lincoln - Kuranyi

 

Goals: Fehlanzeige

 

Referee: Kircher (Rottenburg)

 

Attendance: Weser-Stadion: 42.100 (sold-out)

 

Yellow cards: Micoud, Schulz, Fahrenhorst - Rodriguez

 

Shots on goal: 17 : 13

 

Corners: 7 : 5

 

Crosses: 15 : 13

 

Possession: 54% : 46%

 

Tackles won: 52% : 48%

 

Fouls: 32 : 15

 

Offsides: 1 : 6

 

Most shots on goal: Valdez (4) – Lincoln (5)

 

Most assists: Micoud (5) – Lincoln, Kobiashvili, Kuranyi (3)

 

Most individual possession: Schulz (85) – Rafinha (65)

 

Strongest tackler: Naldo (74%) – Bordon (77%)

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