Hertha is screwing itself up
Schalke’s coach suffered a bitter blow on his debut
October 22, 2023, 3:30 p.m
The decline of FC Schalke 04 continues unabated under new coach Karel Geraerts. On his debut in Karlsruhe, the Belgian received a rough beating. Fellow relegated Hertha BSC also had a wasted afternoon despite taking the lead in Nuremberg.
Karlsruher SC – FC Schalke 04 3:0 (2:0)
New coach, old story: Even under Karel Geraerts, Schalke 04’s dramatic decline continues unabated. In the Belgian’s debut after the 32nd coaching change since the turn of the millennium, the Royal Blues lost 0:3 (0:2) at Karlsruher SC and remain 16th deep in the bottom of the table in the 2nd Bundesliga after their fourth defeat in a row.
There was no sign of the winning mentality that Geraerts had demanded, nor of any new impulses. On the contrary: the balance after Thomas Reis was kicked out three and a half weeks ago is sobering with three bankruptcies and 2:8 goals. Instead of the desired promotion, there is a threat of relegation to the 3rd league. Lars Stindl (22nd) and Igor Matanovic (37th) scored for KSC, who had previously been winless five times in a row, and substitute Henning Matriciani contributed an own goal (75th).
Geraerts relied on veteran Ralf Fährmann in goal, a three-man defense and a very offensive orientation. But the shot backfired: with the old-school keeper, Schalke mostly chose the long ball in the build-up game, but it consistently ended up at the opponent. So only one half of the pitch was played on: Schalke. The KSC clearly dominated the first half and deservedly took the lead when the Royal Blue central defense reacted too slowly: After a cross from Fabian Schleusener, Igor Matanovic passed it to Stindl, who had no trouble scoring his second goal of the season. A little later, Fährmann was lucky when a deflected cross from Paul Nebel hit the crossbar (29′).
It took until the 35th minute before Bryan Lasme had Schalke’s first chance to score – and miserably missed it. The KSC continued to play with more confidence on the ball and with more determination and were rewarded with the 2-0: Matanovic volleyed in after a fog cross – again hardly disturbed. Geraerts tried to correct with three changes after the break. Schalke improved a little, but the fans in the stands who had traveled with them stopped supporting them.
1. FC Nuremberg – Hertha BSC 3:1 (0:1)
The arduous race to catch up by relegated Hertha BSC has stalled again. After three wins from four games, coach Pal Dardai’s team had to admit defeat 1:3 (1:0) at 1. FC Nürnberg despite taking the lead in a wild game. Jens Castrop (57th), an own goal from Toni Leistner (72nd) and a goal from Daichi Hayashi (84th) turned the game in favor of the Franconians on Sunday. Hertha took the lead through a backheel goal from Smail Prevljak (15th). Both teams played with one man less in the last 25 minutes: first Hertha player Marc-Oliver Kempf (68th, emergency brake according to video evidence), then Ivan Marquez (74th, serious foul) saw the red card.
Dardai had given a comparatively defensive goal a few minutes before kick-off. “We would also accept one point,” said the Hertha coach on the Sky microphone. The first chance brought the guests very close to a victory: a cross from Deyovaisio Zeefuik cleared FCN defender Jan Gyamerah at the feet of Prevljak, who finished with his heel. Christian Mathenia in the club goal didn’t look good. With the lead behind them, the Berliners left the game to the Nuremberg team. Alone: FCN didn’t make enough use of their visual superiority, even a penalty didn’t bring anything countable: Can Uzun failed with an unplaced shot past keeper Tjark Ernst (38th).
In front of the ailing Hertha president Kay Bernstein, Nuremberg became more dangerous after the break. Castrop rewarded the much greater effort when he finished from around 13 meters following a corner. Fifteen minutes later, Leistner sent a cross into his own goal. Hertha goalkeeper Marius Gersbeck, who made his comeback in a friendly during the international break after being pardoned, was not in the capital club’s squad. Dardai cited a not insignificant lack of training as the reason for the decision.
Hansa Rostock – Holstein Kiel 1:3 (1:1)
Holstein Kiel remains on the heels of northern rivals FC St. Pauli and Hamburger SV. Coach Marcel Rapp’s team, whose contract was extended until 2026 during the international break, won 3-1 (1-1) after falling behind at Hansa Rostock and occupies the relegation spot, one point behind the top duo. Christian Kinsombi (18th) had put Hansa in the lead, Jann-Fiete Arp (33rd), who was once considered a great storm hope, with his first goal since February and Nicolai Remberg (56th) and Timo Becker (59th) turned it around Game after which Hansa slipped to 15th place in the table. Kiel’s Carl Johansson saw yellow-red in the final phase (82′).
Rostock, who had only won one of their previous five league games, dominated the action in the opening minutes and deservedly took the lead after Kinsombi’s long-range shot. For Kiel it was something of a wake-up call. The storks now adopted the intensive pace and equalized through Arp, once a boy wonder at HSV and then without a chance at Bayern Munich, in his first starting eleven of the season. The well-organized Rostock team were duped by Tom Rothe before the 1:2, the Dortmund loanee found Remberg at the far post under pressure from three opponents. A few minutes later, referee Richard Hempel rightly decided on the goal based on video evidence: Becker’s header was only saved just behind the goal line.