If a Bundesliga team is looking for a test match opponent to gain new self-confidence by scoring a lot of goals, they should not choose SC Verl as their opponent.
FC Schalke 04’s plan was clear on Tuesday, 14 February: after the defeats in the Bundesliga against Eintracht Frankfurt (0:3) and RB Leipzig (1:6) as well as the three nil losses against Cologne, Mönchengladbach and Wolfsburg and the intervening 6:0 test victory over Regionalligist Wattenscheid, SC Verl should now “suffer” and instil new self-confidence in the Schalke players.
But the plan of S04 coach Thomas Reis and Co. went thoroughly wrong. Schalke disgraced itself in the secret test against the third division team. Verl won with 2:1.
VfL Bochum can also tell you that Verl is not a good opponent to gain new self-confidence. Because on 21 December 2022, the East Westphalians had already defeated VfL in a secret test, then over two 60-minute periods, with 2:0.
“You can now say that we have beaten VfL Bochum and FC Schalke 04. But let’s be serious: We can classify that well. Both teams had a good shake-up and played with a mix of professional and young players. Nevertheless, it has to be said that we did very well,” Sebastian Lange summed up the test match at Schalke to RevierSport.
The Verl sporting director went on to explain: “We approach every game seriously and want to win it. The coach rotates and the boys, who normally don’t play as much, naturally want to show their best side. That’s what test matches like this are good for. And, once again, it always looks good to the outside world when you beat a Bundesliga team. But we, as the people in charge, and also the team, are very good at putting it all into perspective.”
On Sunday, Verl will be back in the thick of things – for third league points at TSV 1860 München. Lange: “This is a nice duel in front of a great crowd. We want to keep scoring points. Because we still need a few more points until we have reached our goal of staying in the league. I think 44 or 45 points should be enough in the end. With 28 points at the moment, we’re still some way off that. “
