Sterkrade 06/07 is in the running for promotion in the Lower Rhine District League. Ahead of the top-of-the-table clash against Burgaltendorf, coach Mühlbauer spoke with RevierSport about winter transfers and the team’s season goal.
Spielvereinigung Sterkrade 06/07 currently sits atop the table in the Niederrhein District League 6. Coach Lars Mühlbauer’s team leads the standings with 38 points after 16 matchdays.
A true top-of-the-table clash awaits at the end of the first half of the season: SV Burgaltendorf, which has slipped to third place following two recent losses, will host Sterkrade on Saturday, December 13, at 3:30 p.m. at the Windmühle.
Mühlbauer expects nothing less than a true top-of-the-table clash: “It will be a very, very open and very close game. I expect a match between equals, although in my opinion we’re not going to Burgaltendorf as favorites despite leading the table. Ahead of the game, a point would be absolutely fine. I’m just hoping for a good game of soccer.”
Sterkrade finished second in Bezirksliga Group 5 in each of the past two seasons. This season, however, the team is competing in the other Bezirksliga, Group 6—a complete unknown for Sterkrade.
According to Mühlbauer, this is by far the more difficult group. He is all the more impressed by his team’s performance so far in the first half of the season: “You have to really appreciate my team’s performance in this new group.”
But despite the new group, Mühlbauer was ambitious from the start: “No, our goal wasn’t just to avoid relegation. We finished second two years in a row and wanted to compete at the top again. My team has really gelled and is playing some very good soccer.”
Above all, Sterkrade’s defense is the benchmark in the Bezirksliga. With just 20 goals conceded, the team boasts the best defense in the league.
That’s why Mühlbauer sees no reason for changes in the winter: “I have complete confidence in my team. We don’t need to worry about anything. The squad is big enough, and together we’re a super tight-knit bunch.”