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Feyenoord beat Schalke 2-1
Salomon Kalou scored twice as Feyenoord beat Schalke 2-1 in UEFA Cup Group A in Rotterdam on Wednesday.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:04 AM IST
Read Time:3 min
Rotterdam:
Salomon Kalou scored twice as Feyenoord beat Schalke 2-1 in UEFA Cup Group A in Rotterdam on Wednesday. Feyenoord of Rotterdam played host to Bundesliga high-flyers Schalke 04 at their De Kuip Stadium in the penultimate round of the inaugural group stage of the UEFA Cup on Wednesday. Feyenoord's game against their German visitors was for the right to lead Group A. Schalke takes lead At kick-off, Schalke had seven points, Feyenoord four, Hearts of Scotland three with Switzerland's Basel and Ferencvaros of Hungary bringing up the rear with one each. Schalke took the lead after just seven minutes. Schalke's Christian Poulsen met an inswinging corner at the near post and Mike Hanke bundled the ball in from point-blank range. Feyenoord's first opportunity came after 16 minutes through Dirk Kuyt's thunderbolt free-kick which brought out a spectacular save from Frank Rost in the Schalke goal. But the home side weren't to be denied and they equalised after 32 minutes. Kuyt's subtle through ball set up striking partner Salomon Kalou and he wrong-footed the German side's defence before turning the ball past Rost. Just two minutes later, though, Schalke nearly went ahead again as Hanke forced his way through, only to be denied by Patrick Lodewijks in the home goal. That save was vital as Feyenoord scored a second to go 2-1 up into the break. It came as the Kuyt-Kalou combination worked for a second time on 41 minutes with Kuyt chipping the ball into the path of the diving Kalou, whose header gave the home side the lead. Attacking game Schalke threw everyone forward in the second half and only a reaction save from Lodewijks denied Hanke a second on 49 minutes after the Schalke striker had been played through beautifully be teammate Niels Oude Kamphuis. Hanke, who was a danger all night, then created a chance himself with a superb flick over an opposing defender after 71 minutes but, this time, his shooting let him down as the ball flew high and wide. With Schalke committed to attack, Feyenoord got a number of chances on the break. The best fell to Thomas Buffel ten minutes from time but he screwed his shot wide. Gullit's men No more goals and Feyenoord - and coach Ruud Gullit - looked the happier at the final whistle as their victory confirmed their passage into the next round along with Schalke. The game was one of 16 matches scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday in Europe's second-tier club competition. Forty clubs are divided into eight groups of five, with each club playing two home and two away games and the schedule decided randomly. The top three in each group join the eight clubs eliminated from the Champions League in the knockout stage. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
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