Concordia Wiemelhausen continues to struggle as a newly promoted team in the Oberliga Westfalen. Coach Carsten Droll explains why and sees ongoing progress.

Concordia Wiemelhausen is having a mixed season as a newcomer to the Oberliga Westfalen. For many, coach Carsten Droll’s team was already a sure bet for relegation before the season even started.

But the Bochum team is fighting back and is only one point behind a non-relegation spot. Still, there is no reason to be satisfied with the start. The team has won only two of ten games, losing the rest.

Droll sees several reasons for the bumpy start: “The reasons for our sporting failure are complex. On the one hand, we have a lot of absences and injuries to contend with. In addition, mistakes are punished mercilessly in the league. Unfortunately, we still make these mistakes too often and are regularly paying the price. Playing week after week without self-confidence is, of course, becoming increasingly difficult.”

The 51-year-old spends week after week analyzing and addressing his team’s mistakes. The result: “We need to be more compact as a team and give our opponents less space. We also need to position ourselves better and change our behavior after losing the ball. But we are making progress and learning with every game.”

Another reason that is hampering this development and causing problems for Droll is the injury crisis. Many key players and players who are important for the development of the team are out until at least December.

The injury to Wiemelhausen’s top scorer Patrick Sacher is particularly bitter. The 27-year-old had already scored six times this season. But now he will be missing from his team for the time being and will probably not be able to help for the rest of the season. The diagnosis after he was substituted due to injury against Wattenscheid: torn cruciate ligament.

Wiemelhausen does not have much time to find alternatives. Droll’s team is back in action on Sunday, October 20. Eintracht Rheine will be the visitors at 3 p.m.

The 51-year-old said, “Rheine is a technically good team that has had a good season so far. They are very flexible and can play both with possession and with long balls.”