Six times the SpVgg Erkenschwick has already won the Mitternachtscup. This time it did not work out. The team of Magnus Niemöller lost in the final.
SpVgg Erkenschwick is the previous record winner of the Hertener Mitternachtscups. This time, however, the team of coach Magnus Niemöller had to give up the winner’s trophy.
In a dramatic final, the Oberliga team lost to the Landesliga team SSV Buer in the sports hall of the Rosa-Parks-Schule in Herten with 2:3 after a penalty shootout. At the end of the game, the score was 2:2. Dramatically, one after the other, all the shooters from both clubs missed. SSV Buer only scored with the last attempt and thus brought the trophy to Gelsenkirchen.
“Both teams dominated Group A of the Fromme Group construction company. They were also the best teams in the tournament and deserved to reach the final,” said tournament organizer Thorsten Gringel of host club SpVgg Herten. ‘Funnily enough, both teams had also played each other in the opening game,’ said Gringel. ‘In the end, it was also 2:2’.
Last year was the same. Then Erkenschwick and TuS Sinsen, who won the IKK Classic Group B on Friday but lost to SV Dorsten-Hardt in the main round, opened the tournament with the first game and then decided the final. At that time, the “Schwicker” won the tournament. Erkenschwick, who had started without their top scorer Stefan Oerterer, thus missed the title defense against the club from Buer, which had already been named as a secret favorite.
The second Oberliga team SV Schermbeck 2000 won its preliminary round group Stadtwerke Herten C, but then surprisingly lost to FC Marl 2011 in the main round.
A sold-out house – a very fair tournament
According to Gringel, all the matches were played fairly and there were only two red cards against goalkeepers because they came too far out of their box and handled the ball.
After a short vacation, Gringel will once again take care of the Kick with the Staffel & Engbert Mitternachtscup next year. “The hall was once again completely sold out with 1,000 spectators. The atmosphere at the subsequent player’s party was fantastic. The spectacle went on late into the night. At some point we even had to throw the last ones out,” revealed Gringel, who was completely satisfied with the way the tournament went.