FC Hansa Rostock travels to Rot-Weiss Essen on Saturday (September 20, 2 p.m.). The Hansa Kogge is on a roll.
It’s one thing after another for FC Hansa Rostock—the next big game in the 3rd division is on the schedule: After the scoreless draw at Bremer Brücke against VfL Osnabrück and the 2-1 home win against TSV 1860 Munich last Wednesday, things are already heating up again this coming Saturday. The opponent: Rot-Weiss Essen. The stadium on Hafenstraße is sold out with 19,000 spectators. Among them will be 1,900 FC Hansa fans in the away section. Essen and Rostock – two clubs with top third division squads. Probably the biggest difference between the two teams: while FC Hansa has only scored four goals and conceded three in the current season, Essen has already scored twelve.
On the other hand, Rot-Weiss Essen has conceded ten goals in the six league games played so far.
However, RWE veteran Klaus Gjasula sees no reason for concern: “It’s the sixth match day and I know that other teams are marching on, but we should focus on ourselves. The season is still long and it’s the wrong approach to get nervous now,” he said after the 1-1 draw against VfL Osnabrück. But Essen should win against Rostock to keep the fans happy. After the 1-1 draw against 1860, 2-3 against Aachen, and 1-1 against Osnabrück, it’s time for a win in their fourth home game of 2025/2026. In the past, the two teams have only met six times in a competitive match. Hansa won two of those games, Essen three. The two clubs drew once. The last game at Hafenstraße ended in a narrow 2-1 win for the home side. Despite a good start and a lead for Essen thanks to former Essen player Cedric Harenbrock, RWE turned the game around, helped by a red card for Alexander Rossipal.
The Baltic Sea city team wants things to be different on Saturday. “We expect a strong opponent in front of a good crowd. It’s always unpleasant to play at Hafenstraße, but we want to come away from this midweek fixture with seven points,” said center back Ahmet Gürleyen after Friday’s final training session, setting the target for the away game in the Ruhr region.
