ESC Rellinghausen has started a curious streak. Coach Sascha Behnke’s team is unbeaten in six games, but has only won two of them.

ESC Rellinghausen has started a curious streak. Coach Sascha Behnke’s team is now unbeaten in six games. That sounds like a fantastic streak and a very good position in the table.

Until you look at the points tally: only two of the six unbeaten games were won. This is one of the reasons why ESC is “only” in ninth place with 17 points after twelve games. Behnke notes that this is due to the many draws: “We’ve dropped too many points. Of course, it’s always nice not to lose, but in hindsight, we could have achieved more. We concede too many late goals and don’t manage to decide the game early on.”

The 45-year-old sees the main reason why close games couldn’t be won in the large number of young players: “We really enjoy working with young players and we do a lot of that. These players still have their weaknesses and are often not clever enough to hold on to a lead. But that’s the way we do things, and we’re willing to take that risk.”

Overall, however, Behnke is very satisfied with his team’s development: “So far, we’ve managed to play well against any team and be present on the pitch. I definitely see an improvement on last season. If we manage to stay concentrated and focused for 90 minutes, a single-digit league position is the goal. At the end of the day, though, the main thing for ESC is to have nothing to do with relegation as soon as possible.”