After Schwarz-Weiß Essen’s defeat in the round of 16 of the Niederrhein Cup against 1. FC Bocholt, the coaches were in different moods.

After two recent defeats in the Oberliga Niederrhein, ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen faced the round of 16 in the Niederrhein Cup. On Wednesday evening, they hosted Regionalliga side 1. FC Bocholt. Coach Damian Apfeld’s team was determined to advance to the next round of the cup.

Apfeld was aware of his team’s underdog status against the higher-ranked Bocholt before the game. “Of course we’re the underdogs, but we’ll play to win and want to cause an upset.” However, it was not to be: ETB lost the game 1-4.

The match at the Uhlenkrug is quickly told and was decided early on. Bocholt was already leading 4-0 after 38 minutes. Even Niko Bosnjak’s goal to make it 1-4 did not add any excitement.

The ETB coach was particularly dissatisfied with his team’s performance in the first half: “The first half was completely unacceptable. Even against a team from a higher league, you expect more resistance, physicality, and grip. We didn’t show that today. We had zero aggression and didn’t put up any fight at all. That’s not how soccer works, especially not against a team from a higher league.”

Overall, the clear difference in class was evident.

Damian Apfeld

At half-time, Bocholt switched to administrative mode and made a lot of changes. Schwarz-Weiß Essen clearly had the upper hand. Apfeld also saw an improvement in his team’s performance in the second half: “In the second half, we showed courage and made sure we weren’t completely slaughtered. We were much more aggressive, but still far too far away from our opponents. Overall, you could see the clear difference in class.”

For guest coach Sunay Acar, it was only his second game on the sidelines for 1. FC Bocholt. His debut last weekend saw a 1-4 defeat against Sportfreunde Lotte. For Acar, who played for ETB between 2006 and 2008, it was a return to his old stomping ground: “It’s always nice to play in this stadium.”

The 46-year-old was satisfied with his team’s convincing performance: “The first 45 minutes were exactly how I want us to play football. We were aggressive, had long periods of possession and played well in depth. In the second half, it’s clear that the substitutions caused a slight dip in performance. Today, it was too big for me, allowing Essen to get back into the game. Overall, however, it was the right response to the defeat against Lotte.”