Ten points from the first four games, then nothing more. FC Kray is in crisis in the Landesliga. The mood at VfB Bottrop is completely different after their crazy victory in the top match. “Away from home, you always have to find your feet a little more, it’s not our usual environment,” says Hoffmann, explaining the reasons. “But we’ve won away once before,” said Marco Hoffmann, coach of VfB Bottrop, ahead of the top match in the Lower Rhine 2 regional league against leaders SV Budberg. The VfB chose the top match for their second away win. And what an away win the Hoffmann team achieved on this match day.
After 90 minutes, the score was 5-3 – a game that had everything. Olcay Yilmaz, Raphael Steinmetz, and Lasse Dittner put the visitors from Bottrop clearly on the road to victory before the break – or so it seemed.
But the 3-0 lead was not to last long. First, Fynn Eckhardt reduced the deficit to 1-3. Three minutes later, a Bottrop player was sent off with a second yellow card, and with a man down, VfB conceded the 2-3 through Ole Egging and the equalizer through Felix Weyhofen.
Bottrop faltered but did not fall. And with one man down, something happened that no one had expected. Rene Biskup and Alexander Beloshapkin scored to give Bottrop the away win and put them in first place.
They are now level on points with ESC Rellinghausen, who won 2-1 at GSV Moers. Leon Rieske scored the winning goal in the 82nd minute.
Behind them, the previously strong newcomers Viktoria Goch had to take a step back after losing 1-0 to PSV Wesel-Lackhausen. Mülheimer FC managed to catch up a little at the bottom of the table, winning their home game against FC Kray 2-0. It was only Mülheim’s second win of the season and Kray’s sixth defeat in a row, with Mülheim climbing to 16th place. Rhenania Bottrop remain at the bottom of the table, with nothing to show for their efforts on Sunday. They suffered a 2-5 defeat at SF Hamborn 07. While Hamborn celebrated their third win, Rhenania are still waiting for their first victory this season.
