After three years at Rot-Weiss Essen, Simon Engelmann returned to SV Rödinghausen last summer. Forecasting spoke to the striker after SVR’s 5-1 win over Ahlen.
In his three years at Rot-Weiss Essen, Simon Engelmann developed into a crowd favorite and top performer. The 34-year-old left Hafenstrasse in the summer of 2023 and returned to the West Regional League club SV Rödinghausen. Engelmann already played for SVR from 2017 to 2020.
In the current season, he has made 16 appearances in the league and the Westphalia Cup, scoring seven times and contributing one assist. Rödinghausen are in eighth place in the Regionalliga West table after 24 matchdays.
The veteran put in his best performance since returning to East Westphalia in Rödinghausen’s 5-1 win over Rot Weiss Ahlen in the catch-up game on matchday 18: Three goals were scored by the 34-year-old. After the game, Forecasting spoke to the record goalscorer in the Regionalliga West (170 goals), who still has close ties with his former club RWE.
Simon Engelmann about…
… the 5:1 against Ahlen: “The result is of course perfect, but the first half was very wild. After we took an early 2-0 lead, we lost our grip a bit. We shouldn’t have complained if we conceded the equalizer before the break, but luckily we scored the 3-1 before half-time. We were disciplined in the second half and added the goals at the right times. It was a successful day for me.”
… his team’s performance in the championship: “We set our sights higher and wanted to be up there. We missed out on that, especially in the first half of the season, because we dropped a lot of points.”
… his personal season: “Things didn’t go well for me at all in the first half of the season. I was often ill, could hardly train and therefore had no rhythm. I was able to take part in all the preparations in the winter and am now fit again. I think you saw against Ahlen that I can still score a few goals when I’m in rhythm.”
… his former club Rot-Weiss Essen: “When I have the time, I watch the games or at least the highlights of RWE. I’m still in touch with a few of the lads. They’re playing a very good season, even if they’ve dropped a few points in recent weeks and lost touch with the top. But the league is so tight that they could definitely knock on the door again with a series of wins. That would be amazing, of course.”
… the goals of SV Rödinghausen: “It won’t be enough to reach the top this season. I think if we end up in fifth or sixth place, that would be pretty good. We still want to achieve the best possible position and then attack next year. “