As a newly promoted team, DJK SF Katernberg has had an impressive first half of the season. Sascha Hense’s squad has put some distance between itself and the relegation zone.
DJK Sportfreunde Katernberg immediately made its mark in Landesliga Staffel 2 in the Lower Rhine region following its promotion. The Essen-based team has earned 31 points and sits in 6th place, well clear of the dangerous regions of the table. The promoted team has already built up a 14-point cushion over the relegation zone.
On January 2, Sascha Hense will call the team back for the start of training to prepare for the second-half opener 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 hit our stride in the league right away and have been playing a very good season so far. I’m very proud of the team for pulling together so well and giving it their all in every game. But another highlight is how everyone in the club works hard and gives their all. Just like all the volunteers and the fans, who always support us and have turned many away games into home games thanks 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 while down to ten men. With the kickoff of the second half and just a few changes, we played a second half that was incredible—with attitude, spirit, and discipline, we won the game 3-1. That was amazing.
And what was the biggest disappointment?
There were actually only two: Against Mintard, we should have won the game easily and were even leading 4-2 with ten minutes to go. We could easily have been up 6-2 or 7-2, but as it happens, the final score was 4-4—and no one knew why. Against Rellinghausen, we also should have made more of our chances. With the score at 2-0, we should have made it 3-0 and, ideally, 4-0, but instead we conceded the 2-1 goal before halftime and ended up losing 2-3. But those are the kinds of games where we learned the hard way.
Will there be changes to the roster during the winter break?
There will be new signings, but they won’t be announced until everything is finalized. We’re definitely still looking for a striker.
What is DJK Sportfreunde Katernberg’s goal for the rest of the season?
Quite simply, we want to replicate the second half of the season just as we did in the first half. With a bit more maturity in one game or another. And, of course, take the next step. We want to continue winning every game we can. And then we’ll see what the final result is.
