After Schwarz-Weiß Essen’s defeat in the round of 16 of the Lower Rhine Cup against 1. FC Bocholt, the coaches were in different moods.

After two defeats in the Lower Rhine Oberliga, ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen were due to play in the last sixteen of the Lower Rhine Cup. Their opponents on Wednesday evening were the regional league team 1. FC Bocholt. Coach Damian Apfeld’s team was determined to make it to the next round of the cup.

Apfeld was aware of his team’s role as underdogs against the higher-ranked Bocholt before the game. “Of course we are the underdog, but we will play for victory and want to cause an upset.” However, nothing came of it: ETB lost the game 1-4.

The game at Uhlenkrug is quickly told and was decided early on. Bocholt led 4-0 after just 38 minutes. Even Niko Bosnjak’s 1:4 in the meantime did not add any excitement.

The ETB coach was particularly dissatisfied with his team’s performance in the first half: “The first half was completely unacceptable. Even against a team from a higher league, you expect more resistance, physicality and grip. We didn’t show that today. We had zero aggressiveness and didn’t defend ourselves at all. That’s not how football works, especially not against a team from a higher league.”

Overall, you could see the clear class difference.

Damian Apfeld

At half-time, Bocholt switched to administrative mode and made a lot of changes. Black and White Essen apparently had more of the game. Apfeld also saw his team improve in the second half: “In the second half, we showed courage and made sure that we weren’t completely slaughtered. We were much nastier, but still far too far away from the opponent. Overall, you could see the clear class difference.”

For guest coach Sunay Acar, it was only his second game on the sidelines of 1. FC Bocholt. In his debut last weekend, there was a 4-1 defeat against Sportfreunde Lotte. For Acar, who played for ETB between 2006 and 2008, it was a return to his old stomping ground: “It’s always nice to play in this stadium.”

The 46-year-old was satisfied with his team’s convincing performance: “The first 45 minutes were exactly how I want us to play football. We were aggressive, had long periods of possession and played well through the depth of the team. In the second half, it’s clear that you have a small dip due to the substitutions. Today, it was too big for me, so Essen was able to catch up. Overall, however, it was the right reaction to the defeat against Lotte.”