MSV Duisburg continues to ride the wave of success at the end of the year. After winning the derby in Uerdingen, the Zebras are champions in the first half of the season. This is how the coach sees the situation.
Six points ahead of second place, the 14th consecutive unbeaten game, the next fan invasion and autumn champions in the Regionalliga West. It’s hard to think of more superlatives for MSV Duisburg these days. Despite a disappointing first half, the Zebras once again emerged victorious from the sold-out Grotenburg against KFC Uerdingen, winning 2-1 after 90 minutes of fighting.
A double strike by Patrick Sussek (69th minute) and Jan-Simon Symalla (73rd minute) sent the 5,500 Meiderich fans who had traveled to Krefeld, who took up the entire back straight, into ecstasy. Nazzareno Ciccarelli had given Krefeld the lead after 26 minutes with a dream goal.
Dietmar Hirsch didn’t want to go into too much tactical detail in his analysis. “Uerdingen simply played with much more passion in the first half. We made too many wrong decisions, were lethargic, didn’t tackle well and didn’t talk enough,” the coach lamented, saying that his side had deserved to be behind.
His team showed the right reaction after the restart and didn’t concede anything except for a big chance after the equalizer. “It was an absolute mentality game. At half-time, it got a bit louder. We had to take the fight and we did that. We showed a completely different face and the right attitude, defended ourselves and played much more purposefully towards the goal,” praised Hirsch.
When asked about the winter championship, the 52-year-old was cautiously optimistic and emphasized the mentality of his team. “We have already achieved a lot, but you don’t get promoted as the fall champions. Everyone knew from the start that we were the hunted because we at MSV Duisburg supposedly have the best, most expensive and most beautiful squad,” joked Hirsch.
His players are coping well with the situation. Nevertheless, the coach is issuing a warning ahead of the next home game against the chasing pack from Lotte this Saturday: “We’re not going to let it get to us. But the boys have committed themselves and that makes a coach proud, of course.”