The SF Hamborn caused a small surprise in the Niederrheinpokal. The 17th-placed team in the Oberliga Niederrhein defeated the 7th-placed team, VfB Hilden, 1:0.
SF Hamborn celebrate a narrow 1:0 victory over VfB Hilden in the 2nd round of the Niederrheinpokal. Marco de Stefano scored the goal of the day in the duel of the two first division teams with a handball penalty (41st). In a match dominated by fight, it was the Hamborn team that dominated the first 45 minutes.
“I complained about the first 15 minutes in the dressing room. I thought the game was too wild. Both teams wanted to take control. After 20 minutes we were intensely in it and the opponent had to foul a lot. Four yellow cards showed that we were always one step faster. After that phase, we also showed our footballing component and had the better chances,” analysed Hamborn coach Julian Berg after the encounter.
After the change, VfB Hilden put on the pressure and had the better chances. The biggest opportunity came after a controversial penalty whistle, Folarin Ibigoni Williams got the ball to his hand, the referee decided on a penalty to the dismay of the Hamborn players. But Talha Demir shot the penalty into the night sky (71st).
Berg was particularly pleased with the fighting spirit of the second half: “Of course we expected the opponent to come out of the break with pressure and try everything. It is clear that it will be tight in the end against a top team of the Oberliga. But the spirit was right and we defended tooth and nail. I think we deserved to win, also in terms of the balance of chances. “
On the other side, Hilden were disappointed. Coach Tim Schneider was not only disappointed with his team’s performance before the half-time whistle, but also with the referee: “We weren’t present enough in the first half. Then we get a penalty against us. You can give that one, but not the one for us later. But that was in keeping with the referee’s performance. It was a disaster on both sides. In the second half, we wanted it and built up pressure. It was just that we weren’t lucky with the finishes.”
After the league defeat against VfB Homberg (1:2), it is the second defeat in a row for Hilden. Schneider sees his team in an unfortunate phase at the moment: “The report card would say they are always trying. And they are. They don’t let themselves down, but not much is working at the moment. You can see that one or two new players are not yet working as well as they should, that the processes are not yet so clear. We simply have to play together more. Then we’ll get the ball rolling again. The end is bitter, of course.
Hilden can pull the cart out of the mud next weekend at home against KFC Uerdingen (Saturday, 30 September, 3:30 pm). The second-last team in the Oberliga Niederrhein then has to travel to SV Straelen (Sunday, 1 October, 3:00 p.m.).