Third division club Rot-Weiss Essen has reached the quarter-finals of the Niederrhein Cup. This is how Christoph Dabrowski sums up the team’s confident progress in Straelen.

After three league wins in a row, Rot-Weiss Essen traveled to Römerstraße on Tuesday evening with a sense of confidence. There, the third division club played against fifth division club SV Straelen in the Niederrhein Cup round of 16. “Last season showed us what can happen in the Niederrhein Cup,” said Christoph Dabrowski, warning of the knockout game.

What the coach meant was that RWE only escaped an early exit in the previous cup season by taking penalties against a lower-league opponent on two occasions.

However, the team from Essen managed to avoid another nail-biting game: Dabrowski’s team won 4:0 (2:0) at the fifth division club.

After an even opening phase, the visitors increasingly took control of the game. Before half-time, Ron Berlinski (37′) and Torben Müsel (40′) set the course for victory with a double strike. Nils Kaiser (47′) and Moussa Doumbouya (88′) added two more goals in the second half. The progress was never in jeopardy.

Dabrowski was understandably satisfied after advancing to the quarterfinals. “The opponent tried to make life difficult for us, keep a clean sheet for as long as possible and make a few pinpricks. We approached the game seriously. The fact that we were able to score two goals before half-time made life a lot easier for us. The 3-0 after half time gave us the necessary security to play the game out to the end,” said the 45-year-old.

I’m happy that we won the game and are moving on to the next round. That was the clear goal. Every victory is important for self-confidence. This was the fourth victory in a row. We draw a lot of self-confidence from that.

Christoph Dabrowski.

Dabrowski continued: “I’m glad we won the game and are through to the next round. That was the clear goal. Every win is important for self-confidence. This was our fourth win in a row. We draw a lot of confidence from that. It was my first time in Straelen. This is a great facility. I would like to thank them for their hospitality and wish the club every success for the season.”

Rot-Weiss Essen will continue in the 3rd division with a home double-header: the next two opponents are Arminia Bielefeld (November 4, 2 p.m.) and SV Waldhof Mannheim (November 12, 4:30 p.m.).