Soccer-'Unnecessary goals' frustrate Schalke coach Keller

BERLIN, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Frustrated Schalke 04 coach Jens Keller blamed individual mistakes and 'unnecessary goals' for their opening 2-1 Bundesliga defeat by Hanover 96 on Saturday as the Ruhr valley club's poor start to the new campaign continued. Keller was already under pressure following Champions League competitors Schalke's ignominious German Cup first round defeat to third division outfit Dynamo Dresden earlier in the week. At Hanover they let a 1-0 lead slip along with control of the game, conceding two goals in three minutes after successfully containing the hosts until that point. "Obviously I am extremely angry," Keller told reporters. "Our plan worked until the 67th minute. We did not have many chances in the first half but were solid at the back." "After the break we had a lot of good chances but right when we were hitting top form we let two counter attacks through on top of some individual mistakes." Klaas-Jan Huntelaar opened the scoring but Hanover struck back through Edgar Prib after a good run from Leonardo Bittencourt in the 67th. Three minutes later new attacker Joselu took advantage after Schalke again lost possession. "Both goals we conceded were unnecessary and are extremely frustrating. We should not allow something like that to happen. Then we failed to turn the game again," said the 43-year-old. Keller, who joined Schalke in December 2012, had a rollercoaster season in 2013-14 with his job often seen as being under threat. However he managed to steer Schalke to a third place finish to hold on to his position. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Josh Reich)