Matchday 21 of the Regionalliga West featured the top match of the season. Rot-Weiß Oberhausen hosted league leaders Fortuna Köln and lost decisively 1-3.
After the first leg between Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and Fortuna Köln on August 16, 2025 (1-5), it was impossible to foresee that Matchday 21 would feature a top-of-the-table clash in the battle for promotion. The team led by RWO coach Sebastian Gunkel has fought its way back in astonishing fashion and is now considered a contender for promotion to the third division.
Trailing by six points and with one game in hand on league leaders Fortuna Cologne, the team had the chance to lay the groundwork for its continued comeback in the head-to-head match at Niederrhein Stadium. However, the “Kleeblätter” completely lost their nerve and suffered a clear 1-3 defeat to the team from Cologne.
The home side made it far too easy for the Cologne team, especially in the first 15 minutes. The players in red were always a step too late—both on the ball and against their opponents.
Understandably, Gunkel had few positive words to say about the opening phase at the subsequent press conference: “We didn’t get off to a good start, and then we were already down 0-2 early on. I do believe that was the difference. Two chances resulted in two goals. We could have handled both situations differently.”
We tried everything. Then came the 3-0 on the third chance—that’s what’s still setting us apart right now.
Sebastian Gunkel
After that, the game turned into a constant onslaught by Oberhausen. Fortuna Cologne, on the other hand, was able to comfortably sit back on its lead. Gunkel’s team had few ideas on how to trouble Cologne’s compact defensive unit.
“In the second half, it was clear that it would get very compact. Physicality also plays a role there. Fortuna is very present in that area, and that made it difficult to create chances. We tried everything. Then came the 3-0 on our third chance—that’s what sets us apart right now,” explained Gunkel.
The lucky winner, however, came from the cathedral city. Coach Matthias Mink and his team further extended their lead at the top of the table. Fortuna now has a nine-point lead. On a day “when everything clicked,” the coach was naturally delighted as well: “Huge praise to the team and the fans, who once again put together fantastic support. It was a dream day. But nothing has been achieved yet.”