Third division side Rot-Weiss Essen lost 1-3 to Verl and slipped to 16th place. Christoph Dabrowski assesses the defeat.

After two home wins in a row, Rot-Weiss Essen was hoping to make it three in a row on Wednesday evening. But it was not to be: SC Verl once again conquered Hafenstraße and won 3-1 (0-0) in Essen. The East Westphalians thus remain RWE’s bogey team.

The highlight of the game was the red card against Julian Eitschberger in the 32nd minute. What happened? Eitschberger fouled Berkan Taz tactically and was initially shown a yellow card. While Verl’s number 10 was receiving treatment (and had to be substituted), referee Nico Fuchs reversed his decision and corrected it to a straight red. From then on, Essen had to play 60 minutes with one man down.

“The red card obviously changed the game. But I think we defended well until halftime and didn’t allow them many chances. In the second half, our goal was to play with all our might to keep a clean sheet and strike a decisive blow. Unfortunately, we conceded a goal after just 30 seconds. The boys gave it their all, but the third goal sealed the game. It’s a bitter evening for us,” summarized head coach Christoph Dabrowski after the match.

Overall, however, the victory was well deserved for the visitors, as Verl invested more and were more active even when the teams were even. RWE played far too passively in the early stages and allowed their opponents to completely dominate the game. Dabrowski was also dissatisfied with the performance in the first 30 minutes: “We actually wanted to go into the game with more spirit, but we had few situations that could have created goal-scoring opportunities.”

It was the second game of the English week for Rot-Weiss Essen. They now have another long trip ahead of them to finish off the week. On Saturday (October 26, 2 p.m.), the Red and Whites will play in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

For the first time since November 2006, the third division side will be guests at Hansa Rostock in a basement battle. The second division relegation side are currently in 18th place in the table and are also lagging behind their own expectations.