Just a few days before the start of the second half of the Regionalliga season against Düsseldorf II, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen played its third preseason match.

Regionalliga side Rot-Weiß Oberhausen has completed its second preseason match at the training camp in Side. The match against Regionalliga side FSV Luckenwalde ended in a 1-1 draw—RWO took the lead thanks to a goal by Eric Gueye.

It was the third friendly of the short preseason following a 2-5 loss to third-division side VfL Osnabrück and a 1-3 defeat against Regionalliga side 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig.

After the final friendly in Side, Oberhausen’s Kevin Kratzsch analyzed: “We really had a tough start to the game and took a long time to find solutions against the opponent’s tight defense. But thanks to Eric’s goal, we got into the game better and were increasingly able to take control. We actually came out of the break pretty well, but then missed the chance to add a second goal. Toward the end of the game, you could tell that after the intense week, we were running out of steam and our legs were getting heavier and heavier. In the end, it was a solid conclusion to the training camp, where we worked through a lot of content and everyone pulled together. I think we’re on the right track.”

RWO coach Sebastian Gunkel saw it similarly: “It was the tough challenge we expected against a team that works very well defensively. We tried to put Luckenwalde under pressure early on. However, it has to be said that the gaps were often too big, which can happen at the end of an intense training camp. In the end, our legs naturally get heavier, and we concede another goal from a set piece. That’s happening to us too often right now, and we need to keep working on that in the coming week.”

Because in a few days, the Regionalliga West resumes, with RWO first facing Fortuna Düsseldorf’s U23s at home (Saturday, January 24, 2 p.m.).

Ahead of the battle for promotion, Gunkel summed up the training camp: “We had very good conditions and were able to focus on a lot of areas, even if not everything went perfectly because one or two players were sidelined for a short time. We’d like to thank everyone once again who made this trip possible for us. For now, our focus is on recovery, because the week took a toll on all of us. Although the preparation time is relatively short, we’re already looking forward to our first competitive match against Düsseldorf this coming Saturday.”