MSV Duisburg was satisfied with the scoreless draw in Osnabrück. Dietmar Hirsch also spoke about the competition for playing time up front.

On Saturday at the sold-out Bremer Brücke, MSV Duisburg lacked ideas going forward. That wasn’t the only reason why, unlike after the RWE derby, everyone involved spoke of a “won” point following the 0-0 draw at VfL Osnabrück.

“Osnabrück was very dominant, especially in the second half, and had some good counterattacks,” Dietmar Hirsch summed up. But the coach also knew that the team’s play with the ball left room for improvement over the weekend. In 90 minutes, the visitors had only one real scoring chance, created by Conor Noß. “We still played courageous soccer and defended with a lot of passion,” praised the 53-year-old.

Particularly bitter: After a foul on Jan-Simon Symalla—who had to leave the field injured shortly before the end—the MSV should have been awarded what Hirsch called a “crystal-clear penalty” just before the halftime whistle. “If that had gone in, the game would have played out differently. In the second half, we didn’t have much control anymore. It turned into a physical battle on a difficult-to-play field. We played too many long balls, and our forwards up front had problems.”

Patrick Sussek was surprisingly just a spectator until he was substituted in at the 62nd minute. When asked, Hirsch explained that Duisburg’s top scorer had recently lacked not only energy but also the necessary cutting edge up front. As a result, Symalla, Noß, and Christian Viet took the lead in the three-man attacking line.

Things aren’t going well for Tim Heike in the white-and-blue jersey these days, either. For the third time in a row, the forward failed to make the roster. In Osnabrück, Dutch player Andy Visser even made his second appearance of the season, but like Florian Krüger, he was ineffective up front.

Heike, who was a regular starter until the end of September and is still goalless, will have to remain patient. Hirsch: “When you have four center forwards and can only take three, that’s a luxury. But nothing is set in stone. Tim has once again made his presence felt in training and isn’t letting it get to him. It’s clear he’s unhappy, but he’s handling it well and showed in Cottbus that he can score goals.”