Third division side Rot-Weiss Essen are through to the Niederrhein Cup semi-finals after a nail-biting victory in Sonsbeck. However, Christoph Dabrowski was not satisfied with the performance.

For the third time in the current Niederrhein Cup season, Rot-Weiss Essen faced an Oberliga side.

After defeating Mülheimer FC 97 and VfB Hilden 2-0 each, RWE traveled to SV Sonsbeck on Saturday. Spoiler alert: The defending champions struggled to a 3-1 (0-1) victory and narrowly avoided a cup embarrassment.

RWE fell behind in the first minute through Klaus Keisers. Sonsbeck defended their lead at the Willy-Lemkens-Sportpark until the 87th minute, but then the visitors finally lived up to their role as favorites and booked their place in the semifinals with three late goals.

RWE head coach Christoph Dabrowski had to take a deep breath after the final whistle.
The coach also knew how close victory and defeat were on Saturday afternoon: “Of course, it doesn’t feel good when you’re behind for so long.”

Dabrowski then had critical words to say about the performance in the first 45 minutes, when the Oberliga side deservedly led 1-0 and even had a good chance to make it 2-0.

“The first half was unacceptable. The attitude we went into the game with, or the way we tackled. We weren’t there from the start. It was completely unsatisfactory and too sluggish. Things improved in the second half, with a clear improvement to be seen with our backs against the wall. But you can see that our situation isn’t easy. Some of the players may be rattled. That’s why it was important for us as a club to advance to the next round,” explained the RWE coach.

Even though Dabrowski couldn’t find much positive to say about the game, the 46-year-old still had special praise for his center back José-Enrique Ríos Alonso, who came on as a substitute at halftime:

There’s also a prime example. Ríos Alonso wins every tackle, whether on a village green, against a regional league team, an Oberliga team or a third division team. That’s an attitude that will take us forward. One or two others could learn a thing or two from him.

Christoph Dabrowski.

“At half-time, I naturally tried to find clear words. We had some great fans with us who had traveled to support us. That’s a commitment. In our situation, anyway. You have to appeal to their hearts and passion. Then things got better. There’s a prime example. Ríos Alonso wins every tackle, whether on a village pitch, against a regional league team, an Oberliga team or a third division team. That’s an attitude that drives us forward. One or two of the others could learn a thing or two from him.”