A win against Kray could be a major step forward for SF Niederwenigern. Coach Kraushaar discusses the cup defeat, the opponent, and the fight to avoid relegation.

After being relegated from the Oberliga Niederrhein, Sportfreunde Niederwenigern struggled for a long time to gain a foothold in the Landesliga as well. Throughout the first half of the season, the team was inconsistent and consequently battled relegation the entire time.

However, the boys from the Glück-Auf-Sportplatz seem to have made good use of the winter break. Coach Marcel Kraushaar’s team has lost only one of six matches since the restart in early February. They’ve earned thirteen points from six games. That’s also showing up in the standings.

Niederwenigern currently sits in eleventh place, a full ten points clear of the relegation spot. But that’s exactly what could make things exciting again. Niederwenigern faces FC Kray—currently in the relegation spot—on Sunday (March 29).

With a win and a twelve-point lead, the guys from Hattingen would likely be out of the relegation battle. Coach Kraushaar remains cautious, though: “I wouldn’t go that far yet; there are still too many games left to play. Of course, we want to keep Kray at bay; a win would be helpful.“

”We discussed the entire first half of the season honestly and openly with the coaching staff and the team and drew our conclusions from it.

Marcel Kraushaar

A loss, on the other hand, would be anything but ideal. Kray would close the gap to just seven points behind Niederwenigern, and the Sportfreunde would suddenly find themselves looking over their shoulders more than they’d like.

The Sportfreunde should be warned, as FC Kray won the cup match between the two teams in early February by a score of 4-2. “Kray deserved to advance in the cup. They always had a lot of energy on the field, were very active, and pressed us high up the field. We had major problems with that,” says Kraushaar, explaining FCK’s strengths.

But now the team should be prepared for that and, above all, hold their ground. The team has already proven that it can bounce back well from setbacks. “We discussed the entire first half of the season honestly and openly with the coaching staff and the team and drew our conclusions from it,” says Kraushaar.

For Sportfreunde Niederwenigern, the hope remains that they have also drawn these conclusions from the defeat against Kray and will put in a different performance on Sunday.