29.
19:00
After Makridis lost the ball, S04 had a counter opportunity via Kabadayı. He can get a corner against Gyamfi. The first one in the evening.
28.
18:59
VfL currently has significantly more of the ball. This is shown by the almost 70% in the statistics. But none of that is of any use if there is a lack of creativity against Schalke’s deep positions.
26.
18:57
The purple-whites often make it through the center to Schalke’s box. Then the Lower Saxony team ran out of ideas and the Royal Blues defended the action.
23.
18:54
Kabadayı reaches too roughly towards Gnaase in the center circle and receives his first warning from Bacher.
21.
18:52
VfL combined with a good passing game into the Schalke penalty area. Once there, Cuisance wants to pass through to Gnaase on the right side. But this pass is far too long. So there is a goal kick for the guests.
18.
18:49
The Gelsenkircheners attack the “hosts” early and press high. The Osnabrück team have a lot of problems with this and often lose the ball. However, the Knappen have not been able to create any further chances so far.
16.
18:47
Karaman again! Yusuf Kabadayı can go unchallenged on the left wing to the baseline and puts the ball back on the edge of the penalty area to the scorer of the 0-2. This time, however, the Karaman shot is too harmless and Kühn can grab it.
14.
18:46
Kleinhansl is able to break through down the left side and finds Niemann in the penalty area with his back pass. But he can’t process the ball properly. Engelhardt can’t get to the second ball either.
12.
18:43
The guests from the pot are now withdrawing and letting the North Germans play. However, not much has emerged so far.
10.
18:41
After ten minutes, the Osnabrück team appeared in front of the S04 goal. But Niemann’s free kick goes well over Müller’s goal.
9.
18:40
In the first few minutes here at the Millerntor, despite the quick goals, you feel like you’ve been transported back to 2020, when the corona pandemic took hold and all Bundesliga games took place in front of empty stands.
7.
18:38
The people of Lower Saxony now have to shake themselves up. Schalke are ice cold in the first few minutes.
5.
18:35
Tooor for FC Schalke 04, 0:2 by Kenan Karaman
Karaman makes it 2-0! Makridis loses the ball to Seguin during the build-up and the Royal Blues quickly switch gears. Schallenberg finds Karaman in the center, who can easily shake off Androutsos. Kühn can only watch his left-footed shot from 18 meters from a central position. The ball hits the bottom left. The 12th goal of the season for Schalke. What a bitter start for the bottom of the table!
4.
18:34
The pressure on VfL is now increasing! How do the purple-whites react now?
2.
18:33
Tooor for FC Schalke 04, 0-1 by Keke Topp
Lightning start for the guests! The Osnabrückers do not attack Ouwejan on the cross from the left and so Terodde can serve in the box. He skillfully places the ball with his chest to Topp, who is able to net completely freely with his right hand from a few meters. VfL slept well on defense.
1.
18:31
The ball is rolling in this ghost game! The Osnabrück team will play in their traditional purple and white jerseys, while the Royal Blues will wear their all-white away jerseys. How big is the disadvantage for VfL of not being able to play at home? We will watch it now. Here we go!
1.
18:31
Game start
18:28
The game will be kicked off immediately by referee Michael Bacher. For the 33-year-old management consultant from Bavaria, it is his eleventh second division game this season. He is leading the 22 main actors of the evening onto the lawn.
18:13
Three days after FC Schalke 04’s 120th birthday, head coach Karel Geraerts’ men want to follow up with a gift in the form of three points and the associated relegation in league two. This would at least bring this messed up season to an amicable end. The problem: the Knappen have so far only been able to collect two wins from 15 games in foreign stadiums (in Nuremberg and Rostock). This puts the blue-whites in 18th place in the away table. It will be interesting to see how this plays out today in front of the empty stands at St. Pauli. Most recently, the Royal Blues remained without defeat five times in a row. However, there was only one win and four draws. So you couldn’t really get out of the bottom of the table. This is supposed to happen today with a threesome. The Belgian coach said before the game that there could be no greater motivation today than finally being able to stay in the league. In the event of a draw, the club can theoretically slip into the relegation place, but can no longer be relegated directly.
18:05
Now to the sports part. VfL Osnabrück has its back to the wall today. Points are urgently needed for the bottom of the table, otherwise relegation from the lower house could be certain after today’s game. The purple-whites are currently seven points behind the relegation place and ten behind the first non-relegation place. Mathematically, only the relegation place is possible. And actually only if a threesome is scored today. The poor goal difference compared to the competition (-33) is quite significant. Head coach Uwe Koschinat wants to put further pressure on his fellow rivals in the relegation battle with a win today. To do this, his team has to counteract the Royal Blues’ “insane physical presence in the penalty areas” today. The VfL coach also sees further strengths in the guests in the area of crosses and goal-threatening players.
17:46
Changes are made once on both sides. At VfL, Uwe Koschinat made a change to his starting eleven compared to the 1-1 draw at 1. FC Magdeburg. Androutsos starts at six for Thalhammer, who is sitting on the bench. On the other hand, van der Sloot slides in at the right back for Brandon Soppy after the 1-1 draw against Düsseldorf. The Frenchman, on loan from Bergamo, will be out for the remaining games after thigh surgery and has already said goodbye to Gelsenkirchen.
17:32
Yes, you read that right, the game will take place in Hamburg’s Millerntor Stadium. Since the traditional Bremer Bridge in Osnabrück has seen better days, the city of Osnabrück had to close the stadium last week. During regular inspections, problems were found with the roof structure in the east curve and it would therefore be too dangerous to allow further games to take place there. The stadium, which opened in May 1933, could not be repaired in such a short time for the game against Royal Blue. After a long back and forth between VfL, S04 and the DFL, the DFL has now moved the game to Hamburg. Both teams have to cover over 230 kilometers (VfL) and 350 kilometers (S04). However, the fans of the two teams do not have to make this trip because no spectators are allowed in the stadium today. This is the result of the opaque negotiations between the Lower Saxony and the Royal Blues. It’s a shame that the fans have to suffer again.
A warm welcome and a nice Tuesday evening to the 2nd Bundesliga. From 6:30 p.m. the (ghost) catch-up game between bottom-placed VfL Osnabrück and FC Schalke 04 will take place in Hamburg’s Millerntor Stadium. We hope you enjoy this game on matchday 32!
