Rot-Weiss Essen were defeated by Borussia Dortmund in the first round of the DFB Cup after a hard fight. That was the reaction of RWE coach Uwe Koschinat after the match.

For a long time, Rot-Weiss Essen was on the verge of a cup sensation against Borussia Dortmund. Then came the 79th minute, when Dortmund’s top striker Serhou Guirassy scored the decisive goal with a great solo effort, destroying all hopes of Essen advancing in a matter of moments.

The disappointment was correspondingly great for the third-division side, who had held their own against the Champions League participants for long periods. “I couldn’t have imagined a scenario where I would be so disappointed after a game against Borussia Dortmund,” said RWE coach Uwe Koschinat in an interview with ARD immediately after the DFB Cup exit.

“We played a really respectable game for long stretches. We gave it everything we had and played a very, very good game on the big stage against such an outstanding team. So it’s obviously a shame that we’re left empty-handed in the end. I couldn’t have imagined it beforehand because I thought that a lot of things would be clearer in the game than they ultimately were,” Koschinat summed up. The 53-year-old had imagined a few scenarios before the game that he thought would have to happen in order to cause an upset and knock their big neighbors out of the competition. “I thought to myself: somehow we have to manage to lock Guirassy in at home. I think it says a lot about the game when such an outstanding individual performance decides the outcome,” said the Essen coach, highlighting the player who made the difference on the night.

His team had a great chance to turn the game around in the first half. Ramien Safi found himself free in front of Gregor Kobel in the 41st minute after a long ball from Tobias Kraulich, but the attacker failed to beat the Dortmund goalkeeper in a one-on-one situation.

“It would have opened the door at least a little bit wider,” Koschinat said of the scene. “We were really good in that phase after a very shaky first ten minutes and started to hurt Dortmund a lot. We were able to keep the game really open in some phases.”

It was all the more bitter for Koschinat that the only goal of the evening came at a stage “when there was nothing in the air and we could sense a bit of desperation in Dortmund. The goal came completely out of nowhere.”