Even the withdrawal of coach Mohamed El Mimouni could not save MSV Düsseldorf. Relegation is certain.
On the penultimate matchday of the Oberliga Niederrhein, MSV Düsseldorf were relegated to the Landesliga after a draw against SC St. Tönis in front of 240 spectators at Heidelberger Straße.
Even the “coach’s quake” at the end of last week could not release any additional strength. A few days ago, Mohamed El Mimouni voluntarily resigned from his position as coach after three years in Eller – only two match days before the end of the season. He should have been reproached for the lack of recognition for his work at the club, for the lack of courage and will in the team.
In the RS interview before the relegation match against St. Tönis, however, El Mimouni did not want to wash any dirty linen. “With my action I only wanted to release new impulses in the sense of the team. You also have to be realistic, we always got the maximum out of it. We were simply promoted to the top division at the wrong time,” said El Mimouni, stressing that it was important not to create a negative atmosphere in the club.
The interim coach and former sporting director, Botan Melik, was equally unwilling to let anything get to his team immediately after the final whistle: “We stood well at the back and I am proud of my boys. St. Tönis’ goalkeeper Joshua Claringbold made the difference and simply saved everything this time,” said Melik.
First departures confirmed – St. Tönis happy
Ahmet Gülmez had the lead on his foot immediately after his substitution, but failed to hit the post (72nd). “We have been planning for both leagues for a long time and will be able to keep a large part of the team in the Landesliga,” Melik ventured an outlook on the new season. Nevertheless, some departures are also already certain. King Manu is sure to join Fortuna Düsseldorf’s U23 in the Regionalliga, others are being linked to VfB Hilden, Mohamed Benktib is moving to Oberliga rivals Meerbusch.
On the other hand, the players and officials of SC St. Tönis celebrated the club’s class preservation. In purely mathematical terms, this was only sealed by the 0:0 in Düsseldorf. Dominik Dohmen was proud: “We are happy and remain together as a team for the most part. We played a satisfactory season and only need to become more consistent in the new season,” said the captain, referring in particular to the learning process of ex-professional Alexander Thamm’s young squad.
Thus, there will be no more Oberliga football in Düsseldorf in the new season. TuRU and MSV will then meet again in the Landesliga.
