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Played
February 4, 2012 9:30 AM EST
Veltins-Arena — Gelsenkirchen
Referee: D. Aytekin
Attendance: 60557
February 4, 2012 9:30 AM EST
Veltins-Arena — Gelsenkirchen
Referee: D. Aytekin
Attendance: 60557
Top of the Match
Mohamed Zidan
Mainz
Mainz
Mohamed Zidan
Mainz
Mainz
Flop of the Match
Ciprian Marica
Schalke 04
Schalke 04
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Schalke 04
Schalke 04
Goal.com Rating 
Fans' Rating Schalke 1-1 Mainz: Obasi rescues point but Huub Stevens' side loses ground on leader Borussia Dortmund in Bundesliga title race
The on-loan Nigerian saved the hosts with the equalizer after the returning Mohamed Zidan scored for the visitors early in the game
By Mitchell Agg
Bongarts
Schalke dropped two points in the race for the Bundesliga title as Mohammed Zidan scored on his return to Mainz in a 1-1 draw at the Veltins Arena.
It took just 14 minutes for Zidan to score after he was found unmarked at the back post by the Slovenian Zabavnik, who provided a magnificent cross. Schalke scored the equalizer on 59 minutes when Chinedu Obasi beat Zdenek Pospech and fired the ball in at the near post.
An end-to-end first opening spell witnessed a penalty shout for the home side turned down by the referee, but Obasi was well-tackled by Jan Kirchhoff inside the penalty area.
Schalke’s pressure proved futile as a well-worked move from Mainz lead to a goal for Zidan. The forward finished well from Zabavnik's delivery, his 23rd goal for the club across two spells.
After the goal the game became a scrappy affair. Misplaced paces from both teams ensured chances were hard to come by, and it took 30 minutes for Schalke to get a foothold in the contest.
However, once again they failed to create any chances as a hardworking Mainz side was resilient at the back. Christian Fuchs provided a number of crosses into the box but Christian Wetklo easily caught all of them.
Schalke’s best chance of the first half came when Kyriakos Papadopoulos blazed the ball over Wetklo’s bar from 16 yards out. The Greek was off balance but he really should have done better.
Schalke took drastic action at the start of the second half by bringing on Peruvian forward Jefferson Farfan and Spaniard playmaker Jose Jurado, but it was Mainz that dominated the game after halftime. A free kick from Zidan was a whisker away from hitting the back of the net.
The Mainz defense remained organized and compact, and then Klaas-Jan Huntelaar started to find his feet. A handball shout was turned down but replays showed that the referee had perhaps made the wrong decision.
However, the visiting defense was broken on 59 minutes when Obasi beat Pospech with a neat dummy on the right hand side of the Mainz penalty area and fired the ball past Wetklo at his near post.
Schalke was in the ascendancy and nearly took the lead as Huntelaar crossed low for Raul but Mainz captain Noveski cleared the ball over his own goal.
Farfan then shot just wide of with a well -hit volley on the edge of the box, but that was as close as Huub Stevens' side came to finding that eluvise winner.
Schalke will be disappointed to have dropped two points, but Mainz was solid and tight at the back and were deserving of its draw. It still remains in the top four with 40 points, while Mainz moves four points clear of the relegation zone and will hope that this result will give it some much-needed momentum.
It took just 14 minutes for Zidan to score after he was found unmarked at the back post by the Slovenian Zabavnik, who provided a magnificent cross. Schalke scored the equalizer on 59 minutes when Chinedu Obasi beat Zdenek Pospech and fired the ball in at the near post.
An end-to-end first opening spell witnessed a penalty shout for the home side turned down by the referee, but Obasi was well-tackled by Jan Kirchhoff inside the penalty area.
Schalke’s pressure proved futile as a well-worked move from Mainz lead to a goal for Zidan. The forward finished well from Zabavnik's delivery, his 23rd goal for the club across two spells.
After the goal the game became a scrappy affair. Misplaced paces from both teams ensured chances were hard to come by, and it took 30 minutes for Schalke to get a foothold in the contest.
However, once again they failed to create any chances as a hardworking Mainz side was resilient at the back. Christian Fuchs provided a number of crosses into the box but Christian Wetklo easily caught all of them.
Schalke’s best chance of the first half came when Kyriakos Papadopoulos blazed the ball over Wetklo’s bar from 16 yards out. The Greek was off balance but he really should have done better.
Schalke took drastic action at the start of the second half by bringing on Peruvian forward Jefferson Farfan and Spaniard playmaker Jose Jurado, but it was Mainz that dominated the game after halftime. A free kick from Zidan was a whisker away from hitting the back of the net.
The Mainz defense remained organized and compact, and then Klaas-Jan Huntelaar started to find his feet. A handball shout was turned down but replays showed that the referee had perhaps made the wrong decision.
However, the visiting defense was broken on 59 minutes when Obasi beat Pospech with a neat dummy on the right hand side of the Mainz penalty area and fired the ball past Wetklo at his near post.
Schalke was in the ascendancy and nearly took the lead as Huntelaar crossed low for Raul but Mainz captain Noveski cleared the ball over his own goal.
Farfan then shot just wide of with a well -hit volley on the edge of the box, but that was as close as Huub Stevens' side came to finding that eluvise winner.
Schalke will be disappointed to have dropped two points, but Mainz was solid and tight at the back and were deserving of its draw. It still remains in the top four with 40 points, while Mainz moves four points clear of the relegation zone and will hope that this result will give it some much-needed momentum.
A sorry Schalke drop 3 points in the race for the Bundesliga title as Mainz score 2 vital goals away in the Veltins Arena
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Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Striker Schalke |
29 | 6 |
|
Mario Gomez
Striker FC Bayern München |
26 | 4 |
|
Robert Lewandowski
Striker Borussia Dortmund |
22 | 0 |
|
Lukas Podolski
Striker FC Koln |
18 | 3 |
|
Claudio Pizarro
Striker Werder Bremen |
18 | 2 |