While the Regionalliga West has already completed its second matchday, the Regionalliga Südwest also kicked off the 2023/2024 season this weekend.

Bitter start for Kickers Offenbach! The traditional club from Hesse has once again set its sights on promotion to the 3rd league. For more than ten years, OFC had not been represented in professional soccer.

Christian Neidhart, promotion coach at Rot-Weiss Essen, is supposed to lead the Kickers to the top this season. But the start has been a failure. In front of 11,483 fans at the Bieberer Berg, Offenbach lost 0:1 to promoted Stuttgarter Kickers. Kevin Dicklhuber (90th) shocked the Kickers in the last minute of the game. Neidhart and his charges were correspondingly disappointed.

“I think we were a bit nervous at the beginning. The backdrop was outstanding. You can’t have anything better on a Friday night. We then lacked a bit of composure in the game in the first half. In the second half, we dominated the game. But when you have few opportunities, as in this game, then you have to decide such hard-fought games through the many standards,” Neidhart summed up at the press conference.

The 54-year-old soccer coach, who coached SV Waldhof Mannheim in the 3rd division last season, added: “Stuttgarter Kickers defended passionately and then put one in for us. That’s very bitter, of course. The guys tried everything and threw everything in. But, of course, it’s very disappointing for us that we lost the opener in front of this crowd. But we can move on. We now want to get the first three points in Aalen, which is the hardest of the season.”

Start made to measure for Steinbach and Adetula

Meanwhile, TSV Steinbach Haiger, also a hot promotion contender, celebrated a prelude made to measure. Steinbach won 2-0 at TuS Koblenz, with Ayodele Adetula, who once played under Christian Titz at Rot-Weiss Essen, scoring both goals. The winger, who moved to Steinbach from VfB Oldenburg this summer, scored the winning goals for TSV in the 72nd and 85th minutes.