In the 2-1 win against Rot-Weiss Essen, Gerrit Wegkamp was the decisive man for Preußen Münster. It was the same three years ago, when the striker inflicted a painful defeat on RWE.
The 2-1 win on Matchday 23 of the 2023/24 season was Preußen Münster’s first home win against Rot-Weiss Essen since Matchday 30 of the 2020/21 season.
Back then, Gerrit Wegkamp’s goal to make the final score 1-0 decided the game and inflicted a defeat on Essen that had an impact. The three points that were left behind at the Preußenstadion would have been enough to become champions at the end of the season, tied on points with Borussia Dortmund’s U23 team. But in the end, Red-White remained three points behind BVB II and had to serve another season in the Regionalliga West.
Three years later, RWE is once again eyeing promotion, this time to the 2nd Bundesliga – and again it was Gerrit Wegkamp who, with his late goal, handed the Esseners a painful 2-1 defeat in Münster.
After the most recent home win against RWE on Magenta Sport, the tall striker also remembered the game from three years ago, but not his winning goal. “I didn’t have that in my head anymore,” admitted Wegkamp, “but I was sitting on the bench next to Dennis Grote today and we were still talking about that game because back then there was a tactical measure that I had to chase him down the whole game.”
Wegkamp thought to himself: “Come on, just shoot.”
This time, Wegkamp didn’t have to chase after the ball for 90 minutes. All it took for him to make the decisive move was just under half an hour of playing time – a powerful shot from the right. “I often hear that I’m not the kind of guy who goes it alone, but rather the one who tries to pass the ball across the field if at all possible,” explained the 30-year-old. “But in that moment, I said to myself: Come on, just shoot.”
The right decision, RWE keeper Jakob Golz had to admit defeat in the near corner. For Wegkamp, it was the first league goal since September 23 in the 1-1 draw against Lübeck. The fact that he ended a personal goal-less streak of 11 games with his goal was of secondary importance to the attacker.
“It wasn’t the first dry spell and it might not be the last. I’ve shown often enough over the past few years that I can get the ball into the net,” emphasized the man who has scored a total of 53 goals in 119 appearances for SCP. ”That’s why I’m happy that I was able to help the team with the goal and give the fans a derby win. That’s what matters.”
“All together for Preußen Münster” chant: ”We live this sentence”
The fans thanked them after the game, celebrated the team and swore them in again with a “All together for Preußen Münster”. “The singing doesn’t just happen when we win, it also happens when we suffer bitter defeats. It’s not a phrase that’s just thrown around, we live it with the fans and it’s wonderful,” said Wegkamp, pleased with the cohesion at SCP.
The victory saw the Adler team move up to tenth place, three places and four points behind RWE. This Sunday (16:30), Wegkamp and his colleagues face the challenge of an away game at Waldhof Mannheim.