Third-division football club Rot-Weiss Essen has made a mess of its season opener. Last season, there was a similar scenario in the first home game.

Rot-Weiss Essen officially returned to professional football on Saturday with a 1:5 debacle against fellow promoted team SV Elversberg. Everyone involved had imagined this start quite differently – especially at Hafenstraße in front of over 16,000 euphoric fans.

The fans could not gain many positive approaches after the clear home defeat against SVE. The gaps in midfield were too big, the gaps in defence too wide and the individual error rate too high. The result: RWE were shown up in their home stadium. The game was already decided after 25 minutes.

Thinking back to 20 August 2021, however, the mood in the Essen fan camp was similar. After a 3-0 opening win at Bonner SC, the Red and Whites were outplayed by underdog SV Straelen. They lost 1:4 at home because RWE conceded four goals in the second half and repeatedly ran into counterattacks after losing the ball in the build-up to the game. Despite this defeat, the team was promoted to the 3rd Division at the end of the season.

And that is exactly the point that could encourage the Essen supporters. Last season, the team showed impressively how they deal with setbacks and defeats. The statistics: The three league defeats were followed by victories. After the Straelen disgrace, RWE won the top matches at Wuppertaler SV (1:0) and against Fortuna Köln (2:1).

Essen’s second defeat in the championship season came on 23 March 2022, when they were beaten 2-0 by the underdogs Rot Weiss Ahlen. Only three days later, the Hafenstraßen eleven showed the appropriate reaction and celebrated a 1:0 victory in the difficult away match in Wiedenbrück with the goal of top scorer Simon Engelmann.

Even after the match against Preußen Münster was abandoned (score 0:2), Essen managed to win the following match: In the Veltins Arena, there was a 2:1 victory against Schalke 04’s U23.

Changes in the starting eleven to be expected before MSV match

The promoted team has proven in the past that it can handle pressure and shows the appropriate response to defeats. Now the players are challenged in the 3rd league, but the team should have gained confidence and credit through their performances in the past season.

On 5 August, Rot-Weiss will travel to MSV Duisburg with over 5,000 fans and can make amends in the derby. To do so, the team must bring the basic virtues onto the pitch, improve significantly defensively and, above all, defend their own goal with passion and the utmost concentration. But the home defeat against Elversberg can also be a chance for some players who have been a bit behind lately.

Last year’s top scorer Oguzhan Kefkir and second-league veteran Thomas Eisfeld, for example, are likely to be hot candidates for a starting role, while players like José-Enrique Ríos Alonso are also making their presence felt in defence. Alonso was thrown in at the deep end last season after the Straelen defeat in Wuppertal and from then on was an integral part of the starting eleven in the first half of the season.