Third division football club Rot-Weiss Essen can still rely on the support of their own supporters despite their false start. But now it’s the team’s turn.
After the 1:4 defeat against Viktoria Köln, third-division club Rot-Weiss Essen will host Borussia Dortmund’s U23s at Signal-Iduna-Park on Saturday and will be looking for their first three points of the season. With one point and eleven goals conceded from three games, the start went anything but according to plan. RWE started the new season with so much euphoria. One positive aspect from Essen’s point of view, however, is that the fans are still fully behind their team.
An indication of this was the game against Cologne on Tuesday evening. Despite the disappointing performance and the second home defeat in a row, the majority of the 15,006 spectators applauded after the final whistle and encouraged the players – that was a strong signal. There was no catcalls.
The best people we have so far are our fans. Credit like that is always dangerous though. Credit has to be paid back.
Björn Rother.
However, the team should not squander this credit with further weak performances. Midfielder Björn Rother knows that too, and he had high praise for the fans in the catacombs: “The best people we have so far are our fans. But credit like that is always dangerous. Credit has to be paid back. If we don’t start doing that as soon as possible, then you have to understand when the pendulum swings. Nobody could have complained if that had already happened against Cologne. The fans were still positive.”
Coach Christoph Dabrowski was also impressed by the reaction of the crowd: “That has to show us that people are behind us. We are in a learning process right now and are paying a lot of dues. The support must give us the belief to play active and courageous football accordingly. But of course with the clear idea of being defensively stable and defending. That’s what we have to set out to do.” One thing is clear: RWE needs positive results now, at best on Saturday in Dortmund. There, too, the league newcomer will again be accompanied and supported by several thousand fans.
