Third division club Preußen Münster defeated Rot-Weiss Essen 2-1. The home side enjoyed a full house.

It was already clear a week before the direct duel in the 3rd division that all tickets for the Westschlager between Preußen Münster and Rot-Weiss Essen would be sold out. So it was no surprise that the Preußen stadium announcer announced during the second half that the game at Hammer Straße was sold out with 11,744 spectators.

The eagle bearers were able to enjoy a sold-out home game for the second time in a row after the Westphalia derby against Arminia Bielefeld (2:1) the previous week. It had not happened in Münster for a long time.

But even a home game between Preußen and RWE has not been as well attended as it was this Sunday afternoon – to be precise, not for over 30 years. On June 13, 1993, Münster played against Essen in the Preußenstadion in front of 21,700 fans.

At the time, the promotion round was for promotion to the second division. With goals from Harald Kügler, Oliver Grein and Christian Dondera, RWE won the second leg 3-1 and celebrated their return to the second division.

Since then, the attendance record for this Westschlager in Münster has never been more than 10,200 (2002) – until January 28, 2024. With 11,744 fans, Hammer Straße was filled to capacity. More spectators are not allowed at the moment. After 94 intense minutes, only the eagles were celebrating: Münster earned a 2-1 home win.

We had big plans and were extremely supported by our fans. In terms of body language, being ‘on fire’ in such a derby and throwing everything at it, that was not at the level where we can operate. The boys can do better than that.

Christoph Dabrowski.

Essen’s head coach Christoph Dabrowski, who praised the fans’ support, was annoyed afterwards: “It doesn’t feel good. We had big plans and were extremely supported by our fans. In terms of body language, to be ‘on fire’ in such a derby and to give it your all, that wasn’t at the level we can play at. The boys can do better.”