ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen got back on the road to success against Sportfreunde Hamborn. Damian Apfeld’s team defeated the Duisburg side 4:0.

After three defeats in their last four games, ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen initially had their sights set on the bottom. The gap to the relegation places had shrunk to three points as a result of the minor results crisis.

Now, however, the Black & Whites have found their way back onto the road to success. On matchday 14 of the Oberliga Niederrhein, the team from Essen won 4:0 (2:0) at Sportfreunde Hamborn.

“We’ve had to bleed a bit in recent weeks because we haven’t achieved the results we wanted. That’s why it wasn’t a matter of course to win here in Hamborn after a small negative spiral,” said a satisfied ETB coach Damian Apfeld.

So a win at exactly the right time? “Yes, definitely. Otherwise we would have been in an even bigger negative spiral. We do have quality. But it’s also a fact that we’re an extremely young team. When there’s a lot of pressure on a team like this and the rucksack gets heavier and heavier, it can always be dangerous. That’s why it’s always better for a young team when things are going well and you’re developing,” emphasized Apfeld.

This young ETB team also includes 20-year-old Timur Kesim, who played a key role in the success in Hamborn with two goals. These were the young attacker’s ninth and tenth goals of the season.

Especially in view of the departures of last year’s two top scorers Noel Futkeu and Marcello Romano, who were responsible for 50 goals between them, Kesim now appears to be the next valuable goal scorer to mature at the Uhlenkrug. “The 50-goal attack that broke away was of course something that was quickly taken for granted at ETB: no goalscorer and too few goals. But that’s not the truth. We have a goal scorer in Kesim,” explained Apfeld.

The positive development of his striker comes as no surprise to the 37-year-old head coach: “I was actually aware of that despite his age. I already had him in the U19s at Rot-Weiss Essen and I just know that he has an extremely good rate in the box for his age. He is a very good finisher. You don’t really get that until you get older, but he already has that.”

After the Hamborn game marked the start of a groundbreaking few weeks for ETB, the Apfeld team next travel to league bottom side SC St. Tönis before VfB Homberg await. “It’s all about getting the second win in a row. And Homberg is also important. It’s the game we have less of right now,” Apfeld looks ahead.