As a newly promoted team, DJK SF Katernberg has had an impressive first half of the season. Sascha Hense’s team has distanced itself from the relegation zone.
DJK Sportfreunde Katernberg immediately made its mark in the Landesliga Staffel 2 in the Lower Rhine region after being promoted. The Essen-based team has earned 31 points and is in 6th place, far away from the dangerous regions of the table. The promoted team has already built up a 14-point cushion over the relegation places.
On January 2, Sascha Hense will hold the first training session to prepare for the start of the second half of the season at PSV Wesel-Lackhausen (February 1). The intermediate round of the indoor city championship is scheduled for the weekend of January 10 and 11.
Forecasting spoke with coach Sascha Hense.
Sascha Hense, how would you assess the first half of the season for DJK Sportfreunde Katernberg?
We settled into the league right away and are still having a very good season. I am very proud of the team for pulling together so well and giving their all in every game. Another highlight is how everyone in the club works hard and gives their all. The same goes for all the volunteers and the spectators, who always support us and have turned many away games into home games due to their numbers. As a coach, I don’t take that for granted. What has been the highlight for you so far?
That was definitely the game at GSV Moers, when we got a red card after 20 minutes and then fell behind 1-0 with ten men. At the start of the second half, with just a few changes, we played an incredible second half – with attitude, morale, and discipline, we won the game 3-1. That was amazing.
And what was the most negative experience?
There were actually only two: We should have won the game against Mintard by a clear margin and were even leading 4-2 with ten minutes to go. We could easily have won 6-2 or 7-2, but as it turned out, the final score was 4-4 – and no one knew why. Against Rellinghausen, we should have made more of our chances. Leading 2-0, we should have made it 3-0 and, in the best case, 4-0, but instead we conceded a goal before half-time to make it 2-1 and ended up losing 3-2. But those are the games we’ve learned from.
Will there be any changes to the squad during the winter break?
There will be new signings, but they will only be announced later, when everything has been finalized. We are definitely still looking for a striker.
What is DJK Sportfreunde Katernberg’s goal for the rest of the season?
Quite simply, we want to confirm the second half of the season in the same way as the first half. With a little more maturity in one game or another. And, of course, take the next step. We want to continue to win every game if possible. And then we’ll see what the end result is.
