After more than a month without a win, SG Wattenscheid beat Westfalia Rhynern 2-1. Head coach Christopher Pache paid his team ‘the utmost respect’.
The defeat series has ended, and the team has learned from previous weeks: SG Wattenscheid 09 was finally able to celebrate again after four defeats in a row. The former Bundesliga club managed a hard-fought 2-1 (2-1) victory against the top team Westfalia Rhynern, which came to the Berliner Straße in third place.
“We expected Rhynern to be a deep-lying opponent, lying in wait for its transition moments and playing at a high tempo,” said 09 head coach Christopher Pache. After just three minutes of play, the guests already showed their strengths and took a 1-0 lead through Jonah Wagner. Despite the early setback, the SGW stuck to their plan, becoming increasingly brave and confident as the first period progressed.
“When you have a lot of possession, which is my goal, you have to counter-press a lot. We didn’t manage that for 20 minutes and gave the ball away. After that, we did better. The boys were agile and tenacious. They were really keen to get this game and realized that the momentum had shifted,” analyzed Pache.
Emre Yesilova’s 1:1, which he pushed over the line after a pass from Fynn Broos at the second post, was on the cards and well deserved (37′). Shortly before half-time, match-winner Broos then shot the ball under the crossbar from a sharp angle to make it 2:1 (45′) – game turned around!
The coach was impressed by his team’s reaction: “When you’ve lost four in a row, you’re not exactly walking tall. So I have the greatest respect for how the team reacted to conceding an early goal. The goals were only a matter of time.”
After the break, Wattenscheid picked up where they had left off in the final stages of the first half, almost never conceding Rhynern a look-in. The visitors’ attempts to build play were quickly thwarted by aggressive pressing. “We were more present in the duels, played it patiently and in a structured manner going forward,” said Pache. The only drawback: Despite numerous chances, the 3-1 remained out. Nevertheless, the coach was “incredibly proud” after the chest-free triple.
“Can’t happen to us” – Rhynern remains harmless away from home
Westfalia Rhynern confirmed the trend as one of the weakest away teams in the Oberliga Westfalen and remained without points in their fourth game in a row away from home.
To the annoyance of coach Alexander Bruchhage: “Completely unnecessary that we gave away this game and go home empty-handed. We were the better team for 30 minutes. With the 1-1, we then completely lost our thread and had no more chances to score. This must not happen to us with the claim to play at the top.”
Lucky Rhynern: Next Sunday is another home game, when ASC 09 Dortmund will be the guests (November 17, 3 p.m.). Wattenscheid 09 will host 1. FC Gievenbeck on Thursday (November 14, 8 p.m.).