SG Wattenscheid 09 got off to a successful start in the second half of the season with a 2-1 victory over Victoria Clarholz. Head coach Christopher Pache would have liked to have sealed the win earlier.

SG Wattenscheid 09 is picking up where it left off in the first half of the season: To kick off the second half of the season, the Oberliga leader defeated TSV Victoria Clarholz 2-1 (2-0) in a hard-fought match. Because the natural grass field at Lohrheidestadion was unplayable due to weather conditions, the game had to be played on the artificial turf field on Berliner Straße.

However, the first spectacle of the afternoon there wasn’t caused by the players, but by the spectators: About a dozen 09 fans, who had previously been ejected from the stadium grounds, vented their anger by setting off pyrotechnics behind the fence—that is, on the street. After police patrol cars arrived with their sirens blaring, the situation was quickly resolved.

Then the focus shifted to the game: After an evenly matched opening phase, SGW gradually increased the pressure after a quarter of an hour and took a 1–0 lead in the 25th minute with a header by striker Kevin Schacht. Ilias Anan extended that lead just before halftime with a spectacular strike from about 22 meters into the top corner—2–0 (38th minute).

“We played the ball wide effectively in the first half. We sometimes took a tad too long, but we kept finding solutions,” head coach Christopher Pache analyzed. But the coach wanted more: “I think we left a lot of chances on the table there. Otherwise, we were solid, controlled the game, had plenty of possession, and strung together a lot of passes.”

After the break, referee Niklas Simpson took center stage: First, Berkan Firat’s supposed 3–0 goal was called off due to a foul in the build-up, and later, the whistle remained silent during two controversial plays involving Wortmann. In stoppage time, the visitors from East Westphalia pulled one back through Nick Flock (90’ + 2).

Much to the frustration of SGW coach Pache: “That goal really eats at me the most. Given our dominance and the clarity of our chances, we should have sealed the deal sooner. A 2–0 lead is always a precarious position; something can happen quickly with a long ball. We were lucky it didn’t happen until so late. Still, overall, it was all right for the season opener.”

On the visitors’ side, despite the loss to the league leaders, they weren’t dissatisfied with the overall performance either: “Given the scoring chances, the result is fair. Our preparation suffered due to difficult training conditions. So I was satisfied with how we executed our game plan. Unfortunately, we couldn’t create any more pressure down the stretch,” said coach Christian Lichte.

The first points of the new year will therefore have to wait. Clarholz’s next opportunity comes this coming Saturday at Spielvereinigung Vreden (February 7, 2:00 p.m.). The night before, Wattenscheid will host SC Preußen Münster II (February 6, 6:30 p.m.).