Rot-Weiß Oberhausen has one of the best goalkeepers in the league. The defense is holding. And yet the gap to the top is quite large.

Only 14 goals conceded in 15 games: Robin Benz is statistically the second-best goalkeeper in the Regionalliga West, behind only Fortuna Cologne’s keeper and captain Andre Weis (14 games, twelve goals conceded).

While Fortuna is in second place, Red-White Oberhausen, with Benz in the box, is only in seventh place. They are ten points behind the top-ranked team. The teams with strong defenses are usually at the top. But not RWO.

“Yes, that’s a shame. We’re really solid. Unfortunately, we’ve had some unlucky runs of play this season. We’ve also had a lot of games where we just had no luck in front of goal. That’s also part of the truth,” the 28-year-old reflects.

He adds regarding his own strong personal statistics: ”I don’t put much stock in statistics. I just want to help the team. But, sure: every goalkeeper is happy to keep a few clean sheets. At the end of the day, though, it’s about the team: and we’re not quite satisfied there yet.”

This is the best squad I’ve ever played in. When we have all the players on board, I have no worries. We have a lot of quality.

Robin Benz

But Benz, who is in his fourth year at RWO, is far from giving up. Ahead of Saturday’s home game, the Bochum native, who has long since made Oberhausen his home, emphasizes: “We have to win the games against Paderborn, Wiedenbrück and in Velbert. Then we could celebrate Christmas with ten wins under our belt and go on the attack again in the new year.”

Attack, of course, he means the attack on first place. Because Benz also knows that the RWO squad put together by manager Patrick Bauder and Jörn Nowak was put together to celebrate something big in May 2024. “This is definitely the best squad I’ve ever played in. But it’s also worth saying that at times we were missing ten guys due to injury and illness at training. When we have all the men on board, I’m not worried. We have a lot of quality.”

The former goalkeeper of Bonner SC and KFC Uerdingen also relies on quality outside of sports. He is studying social sciences at the Ruhr University Bochum. The academic path is very important to Benz. ”I’m now in my fifth semester. I’ll see if I want to do a master’s degree as well. This course of study opens up a lot of possibilities. I could work in the Ministry of the Interior, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Greenpeace or in marketing. But I still have time for that. First of all, I want to play soccer for many more years,” says Benz. Preferably in the 3rd division with Rot-Weiß Oberhausen from summer 2024.