Rot-Weiß Oberhausen would like to make their good start to the season pay off at the U21s of 1. FC Köln. RevierSport spoke to coach Mike Terranova in the run-up to the game.
Three games, seven points – Rot-Weiß Oberhausen’s start to the season has been a success. Mike Terranova’s team celebrated two 2-1 victories against Alemannia Aachen and SV Straelen, and a high-scoring 3-3 draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach’s U23.
The coach is satisfied with the points haul, but still sees room for improvement: “We are doing well, but we also know that we have to push ourselves to the limit every game. We had good phases in every game, but we have to consistently deliver our performance over a longer period of time. Against Straelen, for example, we played a great first half, but then we didn’t play well enough after the second half. But we know that too and we are working on it. You also have to remember who we were missing,” Terranova explained in an interview with RevierSport.
The 45-year-old was referring to injured defender Nico Klaß (torn ligaments) and winger Kelvin Lunga, who had to miss the last two games with a meniscus injury. “Nico is one of the best defenders in the Regionalliga. He is fast, experienced and has a good build-up play. We hope that he will be back next week. Kelvin, with his speed, is of course a player who is difficult to defend. He got his strings pulled on Wednesday. Replacing guys like that is not easy. The fact that we have collected seven points despite the personnel setbacks gives me confidence. I’m looking forward to seeing the injured players return.” Midfielder Jan-Lucas Dorow, on the other hand, is fit again after his injury and played from the start for the first time against Straelen.
We are preparing for a good opponent. It’s important for us to take away their fun and counter them with toughness and robustness. We want to score and stay on top.
Mike Terranova
On Friday evening (19:30), the Kleeblätter are guests of the U21 of 1. FC Köln and could establish themselves in the top flight with a win. The young Geißböcke got off to a bad start with one point and nine goals conceded from three games. However, Terranova does not want to be blinded by this: “We are not underestimating any opponent! Cologne is currently on a negative trend, but they are a good, dynamic team that will demand everything from us. We are preparing ourselves for a good opponent. It’s important for us to take the fun out of it and counter with toughness and robustness. We want to score and stay on top. “
