Hoppe and glory as Schalke avoid equalling Bundesliga’s
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Schalke avoided a record-equalling 31st-consecutive Bundesliga game without a victory yesterday as American teenager Matthew Hoppe netted a hat-trick in a 4-0 thrashing of Hoffenheim to lift his side off the bottom of the table.
“I was able to take my chances,” Hoppe said modestly after becoming the first American to score a Bundesliga hat-trick.
“The win will give us confidence and some momentum. There are 19 games left, hopefully we can stay up in the first division.”
After enduring a 30-match winless run in the league, the Royal Blues enjoyed their first Bundesliga win in just under a year as 19-year-old Hoppe converted three chances created by Morocco’s Amine Harit, who scored the fourth goal.
After getting a win in only his second game in charge, Schalke coach Christian Gross praised Hoppe and the “outstanding” display of goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann.
“We have to build on the result. There are still a lot
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — FA Cup holders Arsenal beat Newcastle 2-0 yesterday as non-league Chorley knocked out coronavirus-ravaged Derby and West Brom suffered an embarrassing third-round exit against Blackpool.
The rampaging coronavirus is casting a lengthening shadow over football in England, with dozens of games called off and fears growing over whether the season can be completed.
Just one match has so far been called off in the FA Cup third-round — the stage at which the big guns enter the competition — but nevertheless, a number of clubs have been forced to make radical alterations to their line-ups after suffering outbreaks.
Arsenal, 14-time FA Cup winners, continued their recent revival with a fourth-straight win in all competitions.
Magpies Captain Jamaal Lascelles made his first appearance in six weeks after being hit hard by the coronavirus, as both sides made multiple changes.
Andy Carroll had a golden chance to win a disappointing match in the dying seconds of normal time but his shot was well saved by Bernd Leno.
Instead it was Emile Smith Rowe — who earlier had a red card overturned after a VAR check — who broke the deadlock, drilling the ball home in the 109th minute.
Pierre-emerick Aubameyang made the game safe with a late of difficult games to come,” Gross added with Bayern Munich, who crushed Schalke 8-0 on the opening day of the season, visiting in a fortnight.
Mainz replace Schalke at the bottom of the table after a 2-0 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt.
Tasmania Berlin, who went 31 games without a victory in the 1965/66 season, keep the Bundesliga record for the longest winless run.
After league leaders Bayern Munich crashed to a 3-2 defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday, second-placed RB Leipzig can go top with a home win against Borussia Dortmund later on Saturday.
In Gelsenkirchen, Hoffenheim were missing 11 players either injured or suspended, while the hosts were captained by Sead Kolasinac who was making his first Schalke appearance back on loan from Arsenal.
“The white shorts of all my teammates were filthy dirty - that is what we need, what we all want to see,” Kolasinac said in praising his team’s workrate.
Hoppe broke the deadlock tap-in.
Earlier, Derby fielded a clutch of youngsters after their first-team squad and interim with a deft chip just before the break, then doubled the lead on 57 minutes when Harit’s pass again put him in behind the defence to calmly round Hoffenheim’s goalkeeper and fire into an empty net.
Manager Wayne Rooney were ruled out following a virus outbreak at the Championship club.
The American claimed his hat-trick just after the hour mark when put into space by another sublime Harit pass to fire home with another deft chip.
Harit then completed the
Chorley, from the sixth-tier National League North, took advantage of Derby’s weakened line-up to reach the rout by hitting the bottom left-hand corner ten minutes from time.
After defeats to Bayern and Eintracht Frankfurt, thirdplaced Bayer Leverkusen drew 1-1 at home to Werder Bremen fourth round for the first time with a 2-0 win.
In freezing conditions with snow cleared off the pitch