A decision and a big opponent await Sportfreunde Baumberg in the Lower Rhine Cup. The 2:3 at newly promoted Mülheimer FC almost fades into the background.

A run of five wins in a row came to an end for Sportfreunde Baumberg with a 2:3 defeat at Mülheimer FC. Although they briefly looked like equalizing in the last attack after ten minutes of stoppage time, it was a deserved defeat.

In the Ruhrstadion, the leaders of the Oberliga Niederrhein only showed their qualities on the pitch in the final phase. In the end, the away defeat had no consequences. The chasing teams from Ratingen (0:1 against ETB SW Essen) and Uerdingen (1:2 at Union Nettetal) also had to travel home without points, and the leaders still have a ten-point lead over second place in the table.

The club from Monheim am Rhein could slowly start planning for the Regionalliga West – if it weren’t for the unclear situation with the license. A solution has still not been found.

Interested clubs have until April 2 to apply to the West German Football Association (WDFV) for a license for the Regionalliga West. “The board will decide at the weekend and then we’ll see what happens. We’re all looking forward to the situation, but no decision has been made yet,” said coach Salah El Halimi after the 3-1 defeat at the Ruhrstadion in Mülheim.

Of course it’s a highlight. You don’t play a Lower Rhine Cup semi-final every day.

Salah El Halimi

“We played an outstanding round, were always focused. Of course, it’s no surprise that we’ve had such a great season. We’ll have to see how the team reacts – whether there’s a breath of fresh air when it’s decided ‘Yes, we’ll do it’ or whether there’s a damper when the board says ‘No’ – but knowing the boys, they’ll go full throttle no matter which way it goes.”

The players and coach would much rather focus on the upcoming game. Next Tuesday (April 2, 7.30 pm, RS live ticker), Sportfreunde will host Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and fight for a place in the Lower Rhine Cup final against the regional league team.

“The boys have now earned two days off due to the last few games, and we’ll then train normally on Sunday,” said El Halimi, outlining the preparations for the visit to RWO. “It’s a highlight, of course. You don’t play a Lower Rhine Cup semi-final every day, so it’s possible that the boys were already focused on it today. We need a 180 per cent improvement if we want to even come close to keeping up on Tuesday. “