SpVgg Erkenschwick has been on a continuous upward trend for around a year and a half. An important building block in the success story: goalkeeper Rafael Hester.
Promoted as champions of the Westfalenliga last season, now in the upper midfield of the Oberliga: Spielvereinigung Erkenschwick is undoubtedly on an upward trend. The traditional club has recently made headlines, particularly in the Westphalia Cup.
After reaching the cup final last season, third-division side SC Preußen Münster proved to be too big a challenge this year. They suffered a 4-0 defeat against the Eagles, which sealed their elimination in the quarter-finals.
Nevertheless, goalkeeper Rafael Hester praised the approach in Münsterland: “I’m extremely proud of the team and what we pulled off over 90 minutes. Particularly in the first half, we were able to make pinpricks from time to time, but unfortunately we weren’t rewarded. We coped quite well with the sending-off and the goal we conceded. Of course, playing away to a third division team and outnumbered then became increasingly difficult.”
The dicey scene that the goalkeeper addressed: Dzenan Pilica had to leave the pitch early after a dangerous tackle. Erkenschwick had previously presented the SCP with difficult tasks. “If we had continued to play with our full squad, it would certainly have been a different game and very uncomfortable for the Prussians,” analyzed Hester.
The Gelsenkirchen native has been between the posts in Erkenschwick since 2022. Although he has already gained plenty of regional league experience at TuS Haltern and Rot Weiss Ahlen, the clash in Münster was a special experience for him too: “You don’t get something like this every day. I’ve actually played my first competitive match for Rot Weiss Ahlen at the Preußenstadion. Münster is a traditional club with good fans who create a great atmosphere.”
However, the guest appearance in Münster was not the only big cup game in his almost one and a half years at the Stimberg, he emphasized afterwards: “In this period, we have played the most games in the competition out of all of Westphalia. Last season we went all the way to the final, and this time we were among the top eight again. Knockout matches are always something special. We have the experience from such games, which has made us stronger, ahead of our league rivals.”
Erkenschwick mixes up the Oberliga
With 23 points from 14 games, the newly promoted team is currently in eighth place in the Oberliga Westfalen, exceeding all expectations. “I’m very happy with the season so far,” said Hester, explaining: “Many of the players in our team are experiencing their first Oberliga season and have had to get used to the competition, the pace and the toughness. After a small teething problem, we did an outstanding job of putting our plan into practice and put together a remarkable run of wins.”
The architect of the successful team is head coach Magnus Niemöller. Since the Erkenschwick legend celebrated his return in July 2022, things have only gone uphill. “What we’re tearing down here is insane. Anyone would have blindly signed the outcome of the last few months,” said goalkeeper Hester and promised: “But that’s not all. I’m absolutely optimistic about the rest of the season. “