Schalke vs. Shakhtar

[ACBerb]

1-0 (Ailton) 7' Schalke lead! :clap

[ACBerb]

Ahh.. :censored Shakhtar tied it up in the 86'

[Mertesacker]

Very deserved though. Rost saved Schalke several times!

[ACBerb]

I guess a draw in the Ukraine is not so bad, but I expected The co-leader of the Bundesliga to do better! :nono What was the weather like?

[DFB]

dissapointed, i dont think asamoah played, did he?

they could of done better, but tie better then a lose.

[Coldplay]

Other than Rost , there is no othe rGerman player on the field!!

[Mertesacker]

Yeah, pretty sad.

[ACBerb]

Wow is Schalke becoming the new Arsenal? :laugh

[Mertesacker]

Well, at least Gerald and Hanke were subbed in but nevertheless pretty sad.

[Distant Voices]

Ragnick rested Asamoah

[OpaPritschikowski]

From Schalke website:

Superb Rost earns 1-1 draw in Donetsk

Donetsk: Lastuvka - Srna, Hübschman, Lewandowski, Rat - Timoschtschuk - Duljaj (Elano 46'), Matuzalem, Vukic (Jadson 74') - Brandao, Aghahowa
Schalke: Rost - Oude Kamphuis, Waldoch, Rodriguez, Krstajic - Altintop (Asamoah 76'), Poulsen, Vermant, Kobiashvili - Sand (Hanke 81'), Ailton
Goals: 0-1 Ailton (7'), 1-1 Brandao (86')
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Espen Berntsen (Norway)
Yellow cards: Jadson, Timoschtschuk - Altintop, Asamoah

A goal was what coach Ralf Rangnick had demanded in the run-up to Schalke's third-round, first-leg UEFA Cup tie at Shakhtar Donetsk. And Ailton provided this goal as the Royal Blues fought out a 1-1 draw. That the home side did not find the equaliser through Brandao until just before the end was largely due to a superb performance by Frank Rost in the Schalke goal.

The Royal Blues created their first goalscoring opportunity almost immediately when Niels Oude Kamphuis sent in a cross from the corner flag to Ebbe Sand, but the Dane shot narrowly the wrong side of the post. They did take the lead with their second chance, however, after seven minutes. Ebbe Sand found Ailton in the right-hand channel and the Brazilian gave keeper Lastuvka no chance with a narrow-angle strike into the far corner.

Minutes later Brandao had the home side's first chance of the match when he tested Rost with a powerful drive from outside the area. And on the quarter-hour it was Brandao again who popped up unmarked in front of Rost after Tomasz Waldoch had misjudged a header, but the Schalke keeper was able to turn the ball away for a corner with his foot.

The contest then developed into a rather inconclusive affair, with most of the action taking place in midfield and neither side creating any clear-cut chances. The final opportunity of the half came five minutes before the interval when Shakhtar's Nigerian striker Aghahowa was foiled by a brilliant save from Rost when clean through on goal.

At the beginning of the second half the Royal Blues came under some severe pressure, with the hosts creating a string of chances. On 48 Aghahowa failed to beat Rost, as did Brandao four minutes later. At the other end Levan Kobiashvili had to golden opportunity to double Schalke's lead, but with only the keeper to beat was unable to find a way past Lastuvka.

The Shakhtar pressure gradually subsided and the contest became less intense. And the next chance again fell to the Royal Blues when Ailton was put clean through on goal with seven minutes left. His shot was saved by Lastuvka, and from the rebound the Brazilian's chip bounced back off the crossbar.

Shakhtar stepped up their attacking efforts towards the end of the game and eventually got their reward. With five minutes to go Rost was able to gather the ball after a goalmouth scramble but 60 seconds later he was powerless when Brandao was left unmarked at the back post to stab the ball home from close range.

Nevertheless the draw puts the Royal Blues in a decent position for the return leg at the Arena AufSchalke next Thursday, kick-off 1800 CET.

[Mon Dieu]

saw this on euroSprt, you were lucky to get a draw, Shaktar hammered you all game :woot

[Mertesacker]

They play like ****.
Only 15 minutes left to play and Shaktar scored the only goal.

Right now they are out of the UEFA cup.

They play soo arrogant, they don't deserve to advance!
Congrats Shaktar!

Shame on Schalke, this is not good for German soccer!

[Ballack13]

I hate Schalke anyways but it looks bad for German football.

[OpaPritschikowski]

...and I love AC Parma :laugh

[OpaPritschikowski]

Finally from the Schalke website:

Schalke 04 (0) 0-1 (0) Shakhtar Donetsk

Schalke: Rost - Oude Kamphuis (Altintop 75'), Rodriguez, Krstajic, Pander - Poulsen (Vermant 62'), Kobiashvili - Lincoln - Asamoah, Sand (Hanke 70'), Ailton

Donetsk: Lastuvka - Srna, Hübschman, Lewandowski, Rat – Tymoshchuk - Duljaj (Batista 55'), Vukic (Elano 62'), Matuzalem – Brandao, Aghahowa (Vorobyey 77')

Goal: 0-1 Aghahowa (21')

Attendance: 51,179

Referee: Vladimir Hrinak (Slovakia)

Yellow cards: Oude Kamphuis - Duljaj, Vukic, Brandao, Srna

Schalke out of UEFA Cup after 1-0 home defeat against Shakhtar

All Schalke's efforts in the second half were in vain. After a 1-0 home defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk the Royal Blues went out of the UEFA Cup in the Round of 32 on Thursday evening. Julius Aghahowa grabbed the decisive goal for the Ukrainian league leaders in the 21st minute.

Most of the action in the first 20 minutes took place in front of the Schalke goal. As in the 18th minute, for example, when Frank Rost cleared the danger at the last second after Aghahowa had broken through. Then it was Brandao's turn to dart clear, but his shot from eight metres was turned over the bar by Rost. But there was nothing the Schalke skipper could do three minutes later. After Schalke had lost possession going forward the Ukrainians launched a lightning counterattack. Anatoliy Tymoshchuk sent Aghahowa through and this time the Nigerian international beat Rost with a shot into the right-hand corner of the goal.

After going behind the Royal Blues struggled to find their rhythm for quite some time, and it was not until just before the interval that they created any meaningful chances. The best came on 42 minutes when Shakhtar keeper Lastuvka was forced to tip Lincoln's 20-metre free-kick over the crossbar.

In the second half the Royal Blues launched a tremendous effort in an attempt to find at least an equaliser and thus take the tie into extra-time, but Shakhtar's Champions League experience made itself felt, with the Ukrainians posing a constant threat on the break. On 58 minutes Shakhtar captain Tymoshchuk popped up in front of Rost, but the Schalke keeper was able to save. Only once did an equaliser really look on the cards, when the Royal Blues forced the visitors into a mistake on 72 minutes. Lastuvka's attempted clearance landed at the feet of Lincoln, who quickly fed the unmarked Ailton. But the 31-year-old Brazilian took his shot far too early and the ball drifted past the right-hand upright.

With a minute left substitute Elano could even have made it 2-0 on the break, but the Brazilian's shot was parried by Rost, and fellow substitute Vorobyey hit the rebound wide. Despite four minutes of added time and the efforts of Rost, who ventured upfield for three corners, the Royal Blues were unable to find the goal they so badly wanted.