Rot-Weiß Oberhausen have advanced to the quarter-finals of the Niederrheinpokal with a great performance, but now the focus turns back to the league. That’s what Stoppelkamp and Nowak have to say.

Once again, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen did not have an easy time of it in the Niederrhein Cup. In the round of 16, the regional league team was once again on the verge of elimination. Up until the 85th minute, the Red and Whites were trailing 2-0 against the Landesliga team 1. FC Monheim, before they actually scored four goals.

“That’s football. It’s a mistake sport. It’s all part of it. I’m proud of the fact that the boys pulled themselves together in the second half and believed in it. I’m also proud of the substitutes who turned the game around and got us out of the woods,” said a delighted coach Jörn Nowak after the final whistle.

RWO was already unable to convince in the second round of the Lower Rhine Cup. Against VfL Viktoria Jüchen-Garzweiler, advancing to the round of 16 was also in the balance for a long time, before the team was only able to steer the game in the right direction late on.

“We’ve already seen that it’s not that easy in this competition. Other teams have also failed against lower-ranked opponents. That’s why we have to wipe our mouths and move on. What counts is the next round,” said the man who once again steered the game in RWO’s direction by scoring the 1-2 goal, Moritz Stoppelkamp, trying to put RWO’s weak performance into perspective.

Nowak focused on another positive point after the victory. Namely, the numerous Oberhausen fans who made their way to Monheim: “The victory brings the team and fans even closer together. That was outstanding support on a Tuesday for a Landesliga club. It’s not at all a matter of course that such a crowd of fans comes with us and supports us. Just like in the previous round, the fans played a major role in our surviving the round and advancing to the quarterfinals.”

While the Kleeblätter can watch the remaining matches of the last sixteen in the Niederrheinpokal in peace and wait for the next opponent, the next match in the league is already scheduled for the weekend. The home game is against the second team of FC Schalke 04 (Sunday, October 29, 2 p.m.).

Nowak doesn’t want to draw any conclusions from the cup game for the league, though: “It’s a different competition. At the end of the day, we’re taking the positive feeling of being through to the next round. It can’t be compared to the league. We’ve defended a lot of counterattacks excellently in the past few weeks. It didn’t look so good in the cup.”