After a strong start, Rot-Weiss Essen’s game against Energie Cottbus was once again derailed by a penalty kick. In this regard, RWE is on track to set a record.

Groundhog Day all over again. That’s roughly how you could describe the penalty kick issue this season at Rot-Weiss Essen.

Even in the top match against Energie Cottbus, a penalty kick threw the game into disarray after just under a quarter of an hour. Just as the fans were really starting to get into the spirit of things, RWE suffered a setback.

At the end of the 12th minute, Michael Kostka struck Moritz Hannemann on the foot—a clear call. Tolcay Cigerci converted the resulting penalty kick, and once again, the players had to discuss an unnecessary penalty in the tunnel after the final whistle.

“It was a matter of milliseconds—Micha (Michael Kostka, Ed.) didn’t see the opponent coming up behind him. He took a step, and the opponent did a great job of stepping forward, making contact with the ball, and getting touched by Micha. It’s difficult when an opponent comes up from behind. You just don’t have eyes in the back of your head,” explained Torben Müsel, who defended his teammate.

Nevertheless, in the case of Rot-Weiss Essen, people are now talking about the tenth penalty kick conceded. This means RWE is currently on track to tie the negative record set by Hansa Rostock in the 2013–14 season, when they had 15 penalty kicks called against them by the end of the season.

According to Müsel, these situations were actually something that should have been avoided. All in all, another penalty once again cost the team points in the battle for the top spots. Looking at the standings, it’s certainly not a major setback, but it’s definitely a thorn in the side—especially since Essen was definitely not the worse team in the top-of-the-table clash against Cottbus.