SC 1920 Oberhausen celebrated their relegation from the district league after two deciding matches. President Thorsten Möllmann criticizes the association for the mode.

In a real thriller last Sunday, SC 1920 Oberhausen prevailed against MTV Union Hamborn in the relegation play-off for the Bezirksliga 5 Niederrhein. The decision was only made in a penalty shoot-out. As a result, SC 20 are still in the Bezirksliga, while Hamborn have to make the bitter journey to Kreisliga A.

The joy over the successful relegation was correspondingly great for the Oberhausen side, whose president Thorsten Möllmann was already planning the post-match party before the second leg, despite his team losing 3:1 in the first leg. “I couldn’t sleep for a night. I was delighted, but I also felt sorry for MTV in that situation. They were very fair, played superbly and gave their all. In the end, the soccer gods were on our side,” said Möllmann, looking back on the deciding game.

The normally aggressive SC president was conciliatory and praised the performance of the defeated opponents: “I have to praise the Hamborn team because they were an equal opponent and behaved so incredibly fairly after the game. The spectators, the team and the board behaved superbly, which is not to be taken for granted after such a defeat. I don’t know if we would have lost so fairly. It’s a sign of character to behave like that after being relegated.”

The fact that there was a relegation play-off in the first place already caused discussion beforehand. In the previous season, SC 20 would have already managed to avoid relegation. However, due to a rule change regarding equal points, Oberhausen had to play the deciding games despite having the better goal difference and having won the direct comparison

Normally, the whistle should have been blown after 90 minutes and a third match played on a neutral pitch. You can then play extra time and a penalty shoot-out. The association should please think about this for the new season. We as clubs are also thinking about it. My suggestion is for everyone involved to sit down together and look for the fairest solution for everyone

Thorsten Möllmann

“The decision made by the association that we have to play two deciding games despite having 50 goals more and winning the direct comparison is sad enough. No other association does that,” Möllmann criticizes. But there’s another thing he can understand even less: “Hamborn had the first leg, we had the second leg. For me, there should have been no extra time and no penalty shoot-out after the 90 minutes when we were leading 3:1.” According to Möllmann, it was “unfair” to MTV Hamborn that extra time and the penalty shoot-out took place on his team’s pitch.

His suggestion: “Normally, the whistle should have been blown after 90 minutes and a third game should have been played on a neutral pitch. You can then play extra time and a penalty shoot-out. The association should please think about this for the new season. We as clubs are also thinking about it. My suggestion is for everyone involved to sit down together and look for the fairest solution for everyone. “