2nd league
Schalke missed their third win in a row against Fürth
Keke Topp (r) scored Schalke’s first goal against Fürth. photo
© Marius Becker/dpa
After a strong first half, Schalke can hope for another win. But Greuther Fürth struck back ice cold in the second half – and continued the upward trend.
In front of 60,166 spectators in the Veltins Arena, the 19-year-old Keke Topp (30th) and Kenan Karaman (73rd) gave the Royal Blues the lead twice. Thanks to the equalizers from Branimir Hrgota (50th) and Simon Asta (77th), the guests continued their recent high with seven games without defeat and climbed to third place in the table, at least for one day. After the yellow-red card for Derry Murkin (80th), Schalke had to end the game outnumbered.
Better start for Schalke
In the first duel between the two former first division teams in eleven years, Schalke got off to a better start. That paid off in the 30th minute. After a remarkable pass from Blendi Idrizi, young professional Topp was there and successfully completed the attack with a powerful shot from 14 meters. However, further chances to take a higher half-time lead remained unused. That was punished shortly after the restart. Although Hrgota initially failed to lob past Schalke keeper Ralf Fährmann, he pushed the rebound over the line.
Schalke’s second lead through Karaman was even shorter. Just four minutes later, Asta put the ball into the net with a well-placed shot. Despite being outnumbered in the final phase after Murkin was sent off, Schalke saved the draw over time.