Third division team Rot-Weiss Essen must quickly put the last-minute draw with SC Verl (1:1) behind them. The next game is against the league leaders.

Only 30 seconds were missing and Felix Bastians would – once again – have been the celebrated match-winner for Rot-Weiss Essen. In the 82nd minute, he scored a penalty against SC Verl, which he converted himself to give his team a 1-0 lead in an intense match.

The penalty decision was controversial. Whether there really was contact by Oliver Batista Meier on Bastians remained open, but referee Sven Jablonski decided on a penalty kick. “I saw the contact inside. If they want to play out the back all the time, then you have to go in between. His foot went out and you have to take that. At my age and so late in the game, that’s when you fall over,” the veteran said with a smile.

For Bastians, who captained RWE onto the field for the second time in a row, it was already his sixth goal of the season. The defender thus leads the internal scorer’s list of the Essen team. It was all the more annoying that this goal was not enough to win the game. With the last offensive action of the game, the home side equalised through Nicolas Sessa (93rd) – an avoidable goal for the men from Hafenstraße. The late equaliser meant that Rot-Weiss drew for the fourth time in a row.

Accordingly, Bastians had mixed feelings during the interview after the final whistle: “So late in the game we should have got the 1-0 over time. That is very annoying. Before the throw-in, we played the ball into the opponent’s feet without any pressure. We have to be much more clever. At the second post, we should have been on the opponents’ heels. In a situation like that, nobody should be free. But we will continue. We have to maintain our compactness and take our chances – then you can win such an away game. “

Elversberg is by far the best team in the league. We need our maximum performance to get points there. We have great respect, but no fear.

Felix Bastians

Rot-Weiss Essen will host undisputed leaders SV Elversberg next Friday evening (27 January, 7pm) to kick off the second half of the season. Every RWE fan still remembers the 1:5 first-leg defeat, but since then the Essen team has stabilised defensively. When asked if his team had any unfinished business with their opponents, the 34-year-old Bastians replied: “I’m not a fan of that. Elversberg is by far the best team in the league. We need our maximum performance to get points there. We have great respect, but no fear. “