MSV Duisburg lost 0:1 (0:0) at VfL Osnabrück at the start of the new third league season. The Zebra defence withstood the pressure for a long time until a Sunday shot decided the game.

For a long time, it looked as if the Zebras would be rewarded with a point. In the opening match of the new third league season, the decimated Meiderich side held out well until the final phase. But Sven Köhler’s dream goal to make the final score 1-0 dashed the hopes of the 1,400 MSV supporters who had travelled with them.

Only five players took their places on Duisburg’s sparse bench on Friday evening. The reason: Rudolf Ndualu, Marvin Knoll, Tobias Fleckstein and Joshua Bitter had to call in sick at short notice and did not make the trip to Lower Saxony. Torsten Ziegner therefore fielded newcomer Marvin Senger in central defence alongside Sebastian Mai, Marvin Ajani defended at right back and Casper Jander started in central midfield.

Almost 15,000 spectators in the almost sold-out, atmospheric stadium at Bremer Brücke saw the expected hectic game from the start. Already after eight minutes, two MSV players were cautioned. The hosts had the better chances at first. Ba-Muaka Simalaka tested Vincent Müller with a free kick from 20 metres (14). A short time later, the Osnabrück player scored with a side-footed shot to make it 1-0, which referee Patrick Hanslbauer quickly disallowed for offside (17th).

The Zebras took a while to get into the game and survived the first period of pressure from the home side without conceding a goal. After 25 minutes, Aziz Bouhaddouz suddenly had the lead on his feet, but the striker failed to hit VfL keeper Philipp Kühn from close range. On the other side, Müller scrambled a dangerous header by Robert Tesche out of the right corner (34.). Despite a slight preponderance for the hapless purple-whites in the first 45 minutes, it went into the dressing room without any goals.

After 55 minutes, the home block suddenly went silent due to a medical emergency. The emergency doctor had to treat an Osnabrück fan, but he was quickly stabilised. Almost simultaneously, Tesche appeared completely free in the five-metre area after a corner and headed just past the right post (55.). The hosts continued where they had left off in the first half and were even more dangerous than before the change of ends. The Zebras tried to keep the score at 0-0 and hoped for the lucky punch until the end. Moritz Stoppelkamp tried a few more times from distance – without success.