Third-division football club Waldhof Mannheim lost 2-1 to Rot-Weiss Essen, and the reunion with his former club did not end positively for Christian Neidhart.

Christian Neidhart spent two years as coach at Rot-Weiss Essen, where he played a major role in the club’s promotion to the 3rd division until his dismissal in May 2022. On Saturday afternoon, it came to a reunion against his former employer and Neidhart wanted to win the seventh home match in a row with his new club Waldhof Mannheim.

But this plan came to nothing: Mannheim conceded a 1:2 (1:2) home defeat against Essen.

The SVWM fell behind early on due to two major defensive blunders in the opening phase, both of which were punished by RWE striker Ron Berlinski. Until Dominik Martinovic scored the equaliser in the 32nd minute, the home side looked unsettled and should not have complained about a 3-0 defeat.

Neidhart had a similar view: “We didn’t start the game well. If you look at the goals we conceded, it has little to do with tactics or basic order. Situations like that leave you powerless and speechless. Essen was really good in the game and we were insecure, you could see that. After that, we changed the formation and switched to a four-man backline. “

I’m annoyed at how we got into the game. We mentioned in the analysis beforehand that Berlinski is an outstanding starter up front. We were warned, but we let ourselves get infected by this restlessness.

Christian Neidhart.

After the counter-attack goal to make it 1:2 by striker Martinovic, Neidhart’s eleven stabilised and managed to create several more good opportunities until the final whistle, which were either thwarted by Essen’s defensive legs or the strong visitors’ keeper Jakob Golz.

When asked by RevierSport whether he was more annoyed by the weak opening phase or by the lack of chances, the Braunschweig native replied: “I’m annoyed with how we got into the game. We mentioned in the analysis beforehand that Berlinski is an outstanding starter up front. We were warned, but we let ourselves get infected by this restlessness. We had four good chances in the second half. Essen defended it with passion. It’s annoying that we lose a game like that. “

In a week’s time (29 October, 2 pm), Dynamo Dresden, one of SV Waldhof’s neighbours in the table, will travel to Carl-Benz-Stadion. There, Mannheim would like to return to winning ways – after two league defeats in a row.