SpVgg Erkenschwick now face the start of their must-win fixtures after finishing third in this year’s Cranger Kirmes Cup.

SpVgg Erkenschwick won the match for third place against the team from the host SV Sodingen 3:1 at this year’s 22nd staging of the Cranger Kirmes Cup and showed themselves to be in good early form before the start of the upcoming season in the Westfalenliga 1 at the end of preparation.

But before the ball starts rolling in the Westfalenliga, the first round of the cup against league rivals DJK Grün-Weiß Nottuln is on the agenda. Nottuln finished fifth in the league last season and earned 56 points in 34 games. Erkenschwick, on the other hand, finished eighth last season with 54 points. In their last meeting last season, DJK won 1-0. The match will kick off on Sunday (7 May, 3 p.m.)

The game for head coach Magnus Niemöller’s team was supposed to continue next Wednesday in the district cup against Genclikspor Recklinghausen. However, due to the fact that the Bezirksligist cannot get a full team together, Erkenschwick will automatically be awarded the win.

“Duel of the disappointed “

Looking back on the past duel at the Cranger Kirmes Cup against SV Sodingen, Niemöller spoke of a “duel of the disappointed”. The disappointment of both teams missing out on the final of the tradition-steeped competition was too great.

“It was the typical game for third place. However, we don’t feel like undeserving winners. We are happy to have it behind us. We couldn’t do more than finish third. From that point of view, everything is good,” the coach explained.

With regard to the upcoming duels and the team’s status prior to the start of the compulsory fixtures, Niemöller went on to explain: “We have only been together as a team for just under three weeks, so I cannot yet fully assess the status of each individual. Ultimately, everyone is still in their own mode and the task for the coming weeks will be to put this puzzle together. “