Schalke 04's 4-0 victory over Alemannia Aachen left head coach Fred Rutten generally satisfied with the side's pre-season progression.
“There was clear evidence that we are moving forward a step at a time in footballing terms”, Rutten said after the game, adding that the players now had the condition “to give their all at a high level over the 90 minutes.”
Kuranyi happy with teamwork
Schalke's goals came from Jefferson Farfan (22.), Heiko Westermann (57.), Hrvoje Vukovic (73., o.g.) and Marcelo Bordon (84.). Like their coach the players expressed satisfaction with the result, without getting carried away by a convincing win against 2. Bundesliga opposition.
“We played pretty well at times, but we have to keep our feet on the ground”, defender Heiko Westermann said: “We kept a clean sheet today, that was our aim. But we gave them a few chances, and we need work on tightening things up at the back over the next few days.”
Striker Kevin Kuranyi meanwhile singled out the club's new signings for special praise, saying, “the interplay with Jefferson Farfan and Orlando Engelaar worked very well. They proved today just what good players they are.”
“Too many misplaced passes”
In the Royal Blues' defict column, Rutten found that “There were too many misplaced passes. We weren't focussed enough, and in that regard there's definitely room for improvement.”
Overall, though, the 45-year-old Dutchman drew a postive balance on the club's last friendly before the DFB Cup match at FC Homburg: “We've come a step further in every game we've played. We're in good shape physically and the players are hungry for the real action to begin.”
Daun: “A lot of work ahead”
For Alemannia, this was the first defeat of their pre-season campaign. New frontman Markus Daun summarised the situation ahead of their own upcoming cup debut:
“We've a lot of work still ahead, although we put in a decent performance in the first half. You could see Schalke are a very good side, who were clearly better than us on the day.”
Coach Jürgen Seeberger could only agree with that analysis, saying “We were up against a technically very accomplished Bundesliga outfit today. Their opening goal showed the kind of class they possess. We played well enough at times and should really have scored. That's something we'll be working on over the coming weeks.”
Seeberger stressed that the necessary improvement would not be an overnight affair, however: “We're looking beyond the DFB Cup game against Wegberg-Beeck, to the first half of the league campaign as a whole.”
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