The first two semi-finalists in the Niederrhein Cup have been determined. There was a surprise in Ratingen.

The first two quarter-finals in the Niederrhein Cup are over. And Rot-Weiß Oberhausen made short work of Oberliga side SF Hamborn 07, beating them 7-0.

The home advantage was swapped and in their own Niederrhein Stadium, Regionalliga side RWO quickly made it clear who would go through to the semi-finals. After just 22 minutes, the score was 2-0.

Christian März opened the scoring after eleven minutes. He had too much space 14 meters from goal and curled the ball into the far corner. Eight minutes later, Cottrell Ezekwem was able to decide the game early. After a cross, he got his foot in and, with a little help from the visiting keeper, made it 2-0.

And after a foul on Rinor Rexha, Moritz Stoppelkamp converted shortly before half-time to make it 3-0 at the break. That settled the game. Denis Donkor made it 4-0 in the second half three minutes after coming on as a substitute. Sebastian Mai and Pierre Fassnacht scored the goals that made the final score 5-0 and 6-0. Rexha scored the final goal of the game to make the final score 7-0 in front of 1124 spectators.

The second quarter-final also saw a clash between a club from the Oberliga and a club from the Regionalliga, but this time it was Oberliga club Ratingen 04/19 playing at home against SSVg Velbert.

And they took advantage of it in the 2-1 victory, with one scene shortly after the break helping them. In the first half, the fourth division team from Velbert took the lead through Markus Pazurek – and it remained 1-0 for the SSVg after 45 minutes.

Shortly after the break, Pazurek was again the focus of attention, receiving a yellow and a yellow-red card within a few seconds in the 47th minute. The top team from the Oberliga took advantage of the numerical superiority.

First it was Phil Spillmann who scored the 1:1. Later, shortly after coming on, ex-professional Moses Lamidi made it 2:1 for the team from a lower division. When Vedran Beric was also shown a yellow-red card for Velbert, the game was decided. Velbert could not come back with nine men.

It didn’t help that Bo Lasse Henrichs for Ratingen was also sent off deep into stoppage time.

Overview of the Lower Rhine Cup quarter-final

Ratingen 04/19 – SSVg Velbert 2:1

Rot-Weiß Oberhausen – SF Hamborn 07 6:0

Tuesday, February 6, 2024, 7:30 p.m. Sportfreunde Baumberg – 1. FC Bocholt

Not yet scheduled

KFC Uerdingen – Rot-Weiss Essen

Semi-final

Winner of Baumberg / Bocholt – RWO

Winner of Uerdingen / RWE – Ratingen