Third division side SV Waldhof Mannheim, despite a negative goal difference, are in the thick of the fight for a relegation place – thanks to their own home strength.
SV Waldhof Mannheim are a force at home in the Carl Benz Stadium. On Monday evening, the third division club defeated the strong league leaders SV Elversberg – after trailing 0:1 at half-time – with 2:1. It was the eleventh home victory in the 13th match. Particularly impressive: Mannheim fell behind in seven of the 13 home games and still managed to celebrate five victories.
The promotion aspirants are almost impossible to beat in their own stadium. Their only defeat came on 22 October 2022, when they lost 2-1 to Rot-Weiss Essen. For head coach Christian Neidhart, it was the first meeting with his old employer – and the only time there were no points for the home side at the Carl-Benz Stadium.
Looking at the statistics, it quickly becomes clear that Waldhof are on course for a record. So far, no third division team in the last 15 years has been able to boast such a good average of points in home games. As a reminder, the 2008/09 season was the first season of the single-division 3. Liga.
With 34 points after 13 games, the Neidhart eleven has a points average of 2.61. At the end of the season, no team has ever been better since 2008/09. It will be exciting to see whether Mannheim can maintain this average.
The fact that SVWM has been so strong and consistent at home this season might surprise many experts. But: With Neidhart, the club has installed an absolute home game expert as coach. The 54-year-old had already broken a record with RWE during his time in Essen.
In 2020/21, his team won 18 out of 20 home games in the Regionalliga West and drew twice – an unrivalled record in Regionalliga history. At the time, Neidhart boasted an excellent points average of 2.8 with Rot-Weiss Essen at Hafenstraße.
If Mannheim win all of their remaining six home games, they will have an average of 2.73. This means that although the third division club is on course for a record, Christian Neidhart will not be able to break his own best mark.
