Seven goals in one game? Why not, thought Marcel Platzek, forward for Rot-Weiss Essen II.

The Niederrhein 6 District League has also kicked off the 2026 season. The season got off to a rough start for VfB Frohnhausen.

VfB could only manage a 1-1 draw at home against Dostlukspor Bottrop. The team was unable to hold on to its halftime lead. The teams at the top of the table took advantage of this.

Both DJK Arminia Klosterhardt and Spvgg Sterkrade 06/​07, as well as SV Burgaltendorf, won their respective matches. League leader Klosterhardt celebrated a rout against bottom-of-the-table SF 1930 Königshardt.

After 90 minutes, the score was 9–0. Now that’s a way to start the new year. Spvgg Sterkrade 06/​07 also made a strong statement right away, winning 5–0 on the road against Vogelheimer SV, a team that had long been among the top contenders. The score was still 0–0 at halftime, but then the hosts received two red cards. The second-place team took full advantage of the two-man advantage.

SV Burgaltendorf also secured a commanding home victory over SF Niederwenigern II, who are in a relegation spot, with a final score of 5–1. Rot-Weiss Essen II has moved into fourth place following Frohnhausen’s slip-up. Stefan Lorenz’s team, which still has its sights set on promotion to the Landesliga, won its first game of the new year against second-to-last Arminia Lirich in commanding fashion, 8–0.

And one former pro was particularly on fire: Marcel Platzek found the back of the net seven times. The Oberhausen team had absolutely no answer for the veteran.

RWE must now face last-place BG Überruhr in a week—if the match takes place. That’s because while the race at the top is extremely tight and the promotion battle promises to be thrilling, at the bottom of the table, last-place BG Überruhr didn’t even show up for the match. Heisinger SV was thus awarded the three points by default.