Rot-Weiss Essen followed up its 1:2 loss in Ulm with a 3:1 win over top-ranked Dynamo Dresden in the 3rd division.

Rot-Weiss Essen had to face Dynamo Dresden in the 3rd division on Sunday. And as in the past, Dresden could not win at Hafenstraße. Even more: RWE defeated the leaders with 3:1 (1:0).

RWE coach Christoph Dabrowski changed two positions before the game. Felix Bastians and Ron Berlinski came into the starting eleven for Isaiah Young and Mouusa Doumbouya.

Dabrowski emphasized before the game: “We have our captain back on the pitch. And Ron has gained good experience against Dresden in the last two games.”

Among other things, he got a goal laid on by Dresden goalkeeper Stefan Drljača in Dresden. Drljača also blundered in Essen when he took a shot on Isaiah Young after a back pass, setting up a goal against.

And this time, too, history repeated itself. Drljača and RWE – somehow that doesn’t fit. It was in the 25th minute when Essen got a corner, which Lucas Brumme kicked. In the middle Felix Götze headed in for 1:0, also because Drljača flew past the ball.

It was the only goal in the first half that actually turned the game on its head. Because the leaders from Dresden were clearly superior on the field, RWE ran behind a lot, was partly locked in their own half.

And the Dynamos had their chances through Luca Herrmann, Jakob Lewald, Stefan Kutschke or Tom Zimmerschied, but either they aimed badly or RWE keeper Jakob Golz was on the spot. And RWE? They had a second chance, as it can hardly be otherwise in this duel after a catastrophic mistake in the defense of the guests.

But this time Drljača was careful and ironed out the mistake of his front men against Ron Berlinski. Therefore, it went into the cabins with the 1:0. RWE sports director Christian Flüthmann explained during the break on “WDR”: “We have to see the game in two parts. One is the result, the other is the game. Dresden was game-dominating, crushed us a bit, we hardly had any relief phases.”

After the break, things looked a little different. RWE continued to hardly find a way forward, but they had a better grip on the guests’ attacks. Although Kutschke or Herrmann had opportunities from free kicks, Dresden no longer had the superiority of the first half.

In the 75th minute, however, Dresden had a mega-chance. RWE lost the ball carelessly in the defense, Jakob Lemmer suddenly came free to finish, but Götze saved Essen with his straddle from the 1:1.

Shortly thereafter, the efficient Essener on this day. Third chance and the second goal. RWE was really lucky. First Leonardo Vonic wasted a counterattack, the ball came back, but Berlinski was clearly offside. The referee team overlooked this and Berlinski prepared the 2:0 – Bastians finished in the middle.

That was the decision on this Sunday. But it got even better. RWE had the 3:0 in its repertoire after a corner. In the middle, Doumbouya headed in shortly after his substitution to make it 3:0. Dresden managed to make it 1:3 through Panagiotis Vlachodimos in the seven minutes of stoppage time – but that was all.

RWE with a surprising home win against the leaders. The reward: Essen jumps to eighth place.

The English week continues for RWE on Wednesday (7 p.m.) at Unterhaching. Dresden will play at home against Hallescher FC at the same time.