Roman Bürki summed up the feelings of the majority of Borussia Dortmund's players and fans following the 1-1 draw with Schalke. "Getting a draw obviously isn't a great feeling if you've previously been in the lead," the BVB shot-stopper said. The Black and Yellows came closer to winning the 150th Ruhr derby, but ultimately only have themselves to blame for failing to convert a spate of chances.

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But equally, it is possible to see the result in Gelsenkirchen in a different light entirely. It's all a matter of perspective. Had referee Felix Zwayer pointed to the penalty spot in stoppage time and awarded Schalke a spot-kick for an unintentional handball by Marc Bartra, the Black and Yellows would have had little reason to complain. But is that any reason to be satisfied about salvaging a point? Not at all! The overriding feeling at the end of spirited and high-octane Ruhr derby is that there was more in it for the visitors.

"We dominated the match for long spells but failed to get the goal that would've wrapped the game up," said Thomas Tuchel as he reflected on the 90 minutes at the Veltins Arena. "When you concede an equaliser having previously missed two chances to score, it gets to you. We were asking ourselves how it was 1-1," said the BVB coach, who felt he had seen an emotional and intense encounter "in which anything could've happened".

"Another chance to pick up three points on Tuesday"

Despite dropping two points, Borussia Dortmund can take plenty of positives from the derby. For vast swathes of the match the visitors set the tone, registering 55 percent possession and winning 53 percent of the challenges against a tough-tackling Schalke side. "Our performance was completely fine. We battled hard, really held our own in the tackles and in terms of commitment and desire, everything was good," said Roman Bürki. Gonzalo Castro added: "The good thing is that we kept tight at the back and carved out plenty of chances to score, even if we still need to work on being more clinical in front of goal." The last three derby days with Schalke might have ended in stalemate, but BVB are now unbeaten in five matches against the Royal Blues – their longest such run in 17 years. Coach Thomas Tuchel has yet to taste defeat against the Miners since taking over the reins in 2015. It's a derby record to be proud of.

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Bürki makes an outstanding stop to deny Höwedes.

Ultimately, it all leaves the Black and Yellows with a good feeling as they head into the business end of the season. A UEFA Champions League quarter-final, a DFB Cup semi-final and the upcoming double-header in the Bundesliga – a home game against Hamburg on Tuesday evening, followed by a top-of-the-table clash with Bayern on Saturday night – will set the tone for the final weeks of the campaign. It is vitally important, however, not to focus solely on the Champions League and DFB Cup, with the club's aim of qualifying directly for the Champions League by no means secure. A relentlessly consistent Hoffenheim have leapfrogged the Black and Yellows into third for the time being. "In the next few weeks we will simply need to take maximum points and hope the teams around us slip up," said Felix Passlack, while Roman Bürki added: "Luckily we only have wait until Tuesday for our next chance to fight for another three points."

BVB aiming to extend home run

It is Hamburg – a team bearing almost no resemblance to the side humbled 5-2 by the Black and Yellows in early November – who will make the trip to SIGNAL IDUNA PARK in midweek. The Northerners have more points than every other team in the Bundesliga apart from Bayern, Hoffenheim and BVB since the winter break, having stabilised under Markus Gisdok, and will head south full of confidence, making it even more vital for Thomas Tuchel's charges to draw the positives from the Ruhr derby and look forward rather than back. If all goes to plan, the club's unbeaten run at home in the Bundesliga – the Black and Yellows have not lost a league game in front of their own fans under Thomas Tuchel – will stand at 34 matches by midnight on Tuesday.

Dennis-Julian Gottschlich