Rot-Weiß Oberhausen has entered the quarterfinals of the Niederrheinpokal with great difficulty. Until the 85th minute, RWO was trailing 0:2 at 1. FC Monheim.

A memorable start to the Niederrheinpokal quarterfinals: At the start of the third round, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen’s exit was already in the air. Until the 85th minute, the regional league club was trailing 0:2 at Landesliga team 1. FC Monheim – but then turned up the heat and won 4:2. This means that the Kleeblätter can continue to dream of the title. Monheim, on the other hand, remains without a reward for a great fight.

After their relegation from the Oberliga, the Monheim team is back on track. Still undefeated, they are in second place in the Landesliga. The resulting self-confidence brought the FCM from the beginning on the lawn.

Already in the second minute the outsider shocked the favorite. Robin Schnadt scored the surprising lead. And it got even better for Monheim: It was the twelfth minute when the hosts attacked again via the left side – and again Schnadt was ready as a recipient.

Now RWO was running behind a 0:2 deficit. Monheim was still in action on Sunday, while Oberhausen remained match-free at the weekend and coach Nowak dispensed with major rotation in his starting eleven.

There was simply too little from the offense of the cloverleaves. Even the arrival of top striker Sven Kreyer at the start of the second half initially did nothing to change this. Until deep into the final phase, RWO ran on, but found no means against the strong Monheim defense.

Five minutes before the end of the regular playing time, tension sprouted once again. Moritz Stoppelkamp converted a free kick (85th). Only the late goal – or more? But more, because now the laws of soccer took hold. RWO put on the pressure, Monheim could no longer hold out.

At the start of stoppage time, Kreyer scored the equalizer (90th). And then RWO also managed the lucky punch: Cottrell Ezekwem scored to make it 3:2 and completely turned the course of the game on its head (90.+3), Rinor Rexha increased it to 4:2 (90.+6). That’s how it remained.

A bitter end for the bravely fighting Monheim team, who came very close to a sensation against last year’s finalists, while RWO just managed to pull their heads out of the noose.

After this crazy cup match, Nowak’s team continues on Saturday with the Regionalliga home match against Schalke’s U23. Monheim will meet VSF Amern.