Despite conceding five goals – talented goalkeeper with “great game” against Bielefeld

Daniel Dudek, a young goalkeeper, has now come to the fore at Westfalia Herne. He is the number one in both the Westfalenliga and the Westfalenpokal.

Westfalia Herne lost 0-5 to Arminia Bielefeld in the quarter-finals of the Westfalenpokal. Goalkeeper Daniel Dudek was in the spotlight on several occasions.

No, it wasn’t his fault that the hosts lost to Arminia Bielefeld, who play three leagues higher. Rather, it was thanks to the Westfalia goalkeeper that the game was not over earlier – and ended even higher.

Dudek’s career is an interesting one: trained in the youth teams of Rot-Weiss Essen and Borussia Dortmund, he did not make the leap into professional football and ended up on loan at Westfalia Herne via Wattenscheid 09.

He was able to establish himself there from the middle of the season, which he did not manage in Wattenscheid in the 2023/24 season. He only played in five league games for SGW. So he returned to Herne for the current season, where he has now established himself as the number one and consequently was in goal against Bielefeld – in a game that didn’t start well at all.

In the third minute, Dudek was able to make his first save when he cleared a shot from Jeredy Hilterman, who was completely free to shoot after a corner kick, out of the right corner. But just eight minutes later, he was powerless as he conceded his only goal in the first half.

But he kept a clean sheet until half-time. After the break, the game rolled even more in the direction of the Westfalia goal, so that even the goalkeeper, who was in great form that day, could not prevent the large number of goals conceded. Westfalia coach Christian Knappmann thinks very highly of his goalkeeper. “Daniel played a great game today, you have to say that.”

The training he has received at major clubs and his truly great talent will ensure that he will go his way to the top.

Christian Knappmann

Where can the journey take the young goalkeeper? “You must not forget that the boy is only 20 years old. The training he has enjoyed at the big clubs and his really great talent will certainly ensure that he will go his way up,” Knappmann is sure of the career.

Dudek has secured his place as the number one goalkeeper in Herne, as Knappmann emphasizes: “We didn’t need the game against Arminia Bielefeld to know what we have in Daniel Dudek.”