Wuppertaler SV were held to a 1-1 draw by 1 FC Düren on the final matchday of the Regionalliga West season.
On the final matchday of the 2023/24 Regionalliga West season, Wuppertaler SV bared their teeth against 1. FC Düren (1:1) at home in the Stadion am Zoo. Yannik Schlösser put the visitors ahead in the 34th minute (0:1). Semir Saric equalized in the 84th minute to make the final score 1:1.
In their new home kit, the home side took control of the game at the start and scored what looked like the opening goal after just three minutes, although it was rightly disallowed for offside. Düren then had huge luck. WSV could have taken a 1:0 lead in the 12th minute through Charlison Benschop. After a disastrous misplaced pass in Düren’s build-up play, Benschop suddenly found himself free to shoot in front of visiting keeper Leon Schübel. Schübel cleared one-on-one for a corner and kept the score at 0-0.
At the other end, the Bergisch side were a little lucky that Yannik Schlösser did not make the most of his opportunity. The FC 1 midfielder failed to score against the outside of the net. Despite having less of the play, the visitors were suddenly the more dangerous team. WSV were not compelling enough and were punished for it. Schlösser did better in the 34th minute, capitalizing on a misplaced pass from Aday Ercan to make it 1-0 from the visitors’ perspective.
It was even worse for the home side after 41 minutes. The WSV captain suddenly found himself lying on the ground through no fault of his own and had to be substituted
Without the captain, the second half got off to a furious start. Shortly after the restart, Wuppertal were awarded a penalty. Benschop stepped up and again failed to beat the incredibly strong Schübel (47′). Marco Terrazzino hit the outside of the net just two minutes later.
The game became much more intense and Wuppertal had Paul Grave in his own box to prevent the second goal (59′). Substitute Phil Beckhoff provided a breath of fresh air and tested Schübel twice (66′, 67′). Wuppertal pressed for an equalizer during this phase, but were unable to get into the dangerous areas.
It turned into a bit of an act of desperation, but Semir Saric brought WSV back into the game. The joker netted the equalizer to make it 1:1 (84′) and raised hopes for the home side, but they did not last long. The 1:1 was also to be the last offensive action of the match.
The 3-3 draw between 1. FC Bocholt and Borussia Mönchengladbach’s U23s also put an end to the issue of the championship runners-up spot. Wuppertaler SV finishes the 2023/24 Regionalliga West season in a strong third place