Hanke double sinks Brøndby

In an entertaining and lively UEFA Cup second-round first-leg match FC Schalke 04 came back from a goal down to beat Brøndby IF 2-1 at the Arena AufSchalke.

Shock lead
Andreas Jakobsson had given the visitors a shock lead in the first half, only for the Bundesliga side to fight back with two goals from talented young forward Mike Hanke.

Schalke storm
The home side dominated from the beginning, creating chances whenever they moved the ball out wide. Schalke had the first serious chance of the game after a set-piece in the seventh minute, when Ebbe Sand headed Sven Vermant's free-kick wide. The game remained tight until a Hanke header just missed the target following another Vermant free-kick on the 20-minute mark.

Aerial threat
Schalke continued to press, but a Filip Trojan header went wide after 25 minutes and only two minutes later Hanke again missed the visitors' goal after Sergio Pinto had found him with his cross.

Brøndby surprise
The first dangerous situation at the other end came after 29 minutes when Mattias Jonson was left competely unmarked by the Schalke defence, but was too surprised to score from close range - his direct volley was no problem for Schalke's goalkeeper Frank Rost. But Jonson's blushes were spared seven minutes later as Brøndby scored when Vermant failed to clear the ball and Jakobson's shot from 18 metres out was deflected into the net.

Vermant misses
Soon after Brøndby had taken their surprise lead, Schalke had the chance to equalise. Just before the break, deep in the visitors' half, Tomasz Hajto threw the ball in and Hanke headed to Vermant who took the ball on the volley but missed narrowly from 14 metres out.

Schalke equalise
The home side needed time to find their attacking stride but after 60 minutes, Trojan's long ball from the left wing eventually found Hanke near the far post. Like a veteran striker, the 20-year old calmly controlled the ball, chipped it over his opponent, turned, and shot past Karim Zaka into the net for the equaliser.

Altintop change
Schalke coach Jupp Heynckes brought on the gifted Hamit Altintop after 63 minutes and the Turkish Under-21 international broke through on the left wing ten minutes later to set-up Hanke for the crucial second. Brøndby then had chances of their own and will take encouragement from their performance into the second leg on 27 November.