Third division side Rot-Weiss Essen have reached the semi-finals of the Lower Rhine Cup. Nevertheless, Christoph Dabrowski was only partially satisfied.

Rot-Weiss Essen did not have an easy task ahead of them on Wednesday evening on their mission to defend their title: The third-division side hosted ambitious Oberliga side KFC Uerdingen in the Lower Rhine Cup quarter-finals – in an almost sold-out Grotenburg.

The 8,205 fans saw a great game with plenty of chances to score. After 94 minutes, the visitors prevailed 3:1 (0:1) and qualified for the semi-finals at Oberliga club Ratingen 04/19.

However, this victory was a hard piece of work, as RWE played poorly in the first half and consequently trailed 0:1. The favorites were only able to complete their task after the break thanks to an improved performance.

Essen head coach Christoph Dabrowski had made five changes to his starting eleven compared to the 3-1 defeat against SpVgg Unterhaching and had to make further adjustments at half-time: The ex-professional spoke plainly in the dressing room and switched to a 3-5-2 system – with success.

“All in all, the first half was far too little. You could see that. Regardless of whether it’s the Oberliga or the Landesliga, you need willingness to run, intensity in tackles and grip. It was all so half-baked. Not fish, not meat. We didn’t manage to circulate the ball through the back four in such a way that we were able to free up the back eight to get past the winger with determination and also offer deep runs. That’s why we opted for a three-man formation. We did a lot better in the second half,” explained the 45-year-old afterwards.

Post-defending, defensive intensity, closing down away from the ball. These are issues that are with us and where we need to step up our game. But for now, we’re happy to have won the game and progressed to the next round.

Christoph Dabrowski

Dabrowski continued: “We then defended man-to-man defensively. That was also dangerous. We were lucky not to concede the 2:1. We defended far too carelessly on the outside. Defending after the ball, defensive intensity, closing down away from the ball. These are issues that are with us and where we need to improve. But for now, we’re happy to have won the game and progressed to the next round.”

The Red & Whites continue on Sunday afternoon (March 10, 4:30 p.m.). Dabrowski’s eleven will then travel to the Sportclub Arena to face SC Verl. After the 5-0 defeat in the first leg, RWE still have something to make up for and would like to finally score three points again after three recent league games without a win in order not to completely lose touch with the top of the table