Power outage fiasco: Schalke loses dramatically after 3-0 lead against Darmstadt

In a memorable second division match, FC Schalke 04 squandered a 3-0 lead and lost against Darmstadt 98. Coach Karel Geraerts’ team suffered a devastating emotional setback with a 3-5 (3-1) defeat.

The Gelsenkirchen team and their coach are slipping deeper and deeper into crisis. Even before the game there was speculation about Geraerts’ future if he didn’t win again. Now things are going to get really tight.

“Pressure is part of the job when you are with big teams,” Geraerts told Sportschau. “For me it was not a ‘final game’. I prepared for the game like everyone else and tomorrow is a new day for me.”

Captain Karaman avoids confession to Geraerts

Captain Kenan Karaman was evasive when asked repeatedly whether he wanted to keep his coach. “That’s not my job. I think the club will draw its conclusions at the end. The coach always tries to prepare us well for all games and we did that well in the first half. We have to analyse the second half very carefully.”

3:0 after 39 minutes

Tobias Mohr in the 14th minute, Moussa Sylla (34th) and Ron Schallenberg (39th) had given Schalke a seemingly reassuring lead in front of 61,021 spectators. Fraser Hornby (45th+5/handball penalty), hat-trick scorer Isac Lidberg (56th/76th/87th) and Sergio López (90th+7) helped Darmstadt to a sensational comeback with their goals.

Darmstadt’s new coach Florian Kohfeldt achieved the frenetically celebrated first victory in his second game with the Hessians. Darmstadt now has five points, Schalke four after six games.

“Huge compliment to my team,” said Kohfeldt after the party. “My biggest concern was that we would become passive again after the 4:3. I’m happy that we kept going. A great evening.”

Schalke initially superior

The hosts got off to a strong start. Schalke were strong in the tackles and had the first chance early on through Sylla. The 24-year-old was stopped by Marcel Schuhen. But the Darmstadt goalkeeper didn’t even get close to the ball when Mohr took a free kick from 17 meters.

With the lead behind them, Schalke initially controlled the game. Darmstadt only became dangerous with long-range shots – and only to a limited extent. The 2-0 was a quick result. Sylla poked the ball over the line after it had previously hit the post.

Lidberg with hat trick

And the Gelsenkirchen team continued to push forward, not letting a brief power and light outage in the arena throw them off course. Midfielder Schallenberg scored the 3-0, but the goal could not be seen on TV channel Sky due to the power outage.

Darmstadt seemed to have already been beaten, but came back furiously. First, Hornby safely converted a handball meter to make it 1:3. Schalke then had great chances to score a fourth goal, but Darmstadt scored three more times instead: Lidberg had the travelling fans cheering wildly with a hat trick before López put the finishing touches on the game.

Schalke in Münster, Darmstadt against Magdeburg

Schalke will play in nearby Münster next Saturday (28 September, 8:30 p.m.). Darmstadt 98 will collect their next points against Magdeburg on the same day (28 September, 1:00 p.m.).