On matchday 7 of the Regionalliga West, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen missed the jump to the top of the table and drew goalless with Fortuna Köln.
Although Rot-Weiß Oberhausen have been unbeaten for six games in a row, head coach Jörn Nowak’s team missed out on a move to the top of the table on matchday 7 of the Regionalliga West. The 0-0 draw against Fortuna Köln means that the Cologne team now greets the Oberhausen team from first place.
Although RWO coach Nowak would have liked to have clinched the top spot in the table, the 37-year-old could also live with the point. “The best thing for us from the first half was the result. After a good start, we didn’t manage to take control of the game and get into our routines. We were too passive and reacted too much,” Nowak summed up the first half.
In the second half, however, Oberhausen showed a different face and dominated the game for long stretches. At the beginning of the second half, Nico Klaß came on for Tim Stappmann and had to leave the field after only a few minutes. Klaß had an unfortunate collision with goalkeeper Robin Benz and injured his head.
“We are glad that he is on his feet and was able to leave the stadium upright. He was able to take one and immediately signalled that he wanted to keep trying, but then he got dizzy again. The first assessment of the doctors on the spot was that it is not a concussion, but to say something concrete we have to wait for the visit to the hospital,” the coach explained.
If we can’t win the game, at least we can’t lose it
Jörn Nowak
Despite the change due to injury, the Oberhausen side cut a better figure in the second half than they did in the first. Although RWO had some very good chances to score, the home team could not find the net. All information about the match can be found here.
“We took the situation well. The way Tobi Bocholt and Pierre Fassnacht handled it on the left was very, very good. We were the team that could play clearer and better into the final third and had the better scoring chances,” Nowak continued. “I told my team after the game that if we can’t win the game, at least we can’t lose it. “
It was super intense, with warm temperatures and a super atmosphere and I think on balance it’s a fair draw
Markus von Ahlen
Guest coach Markus von Ahlen was also happy with the point, as one point was enough for the Cologne side to move clear at the top of the table. “Overall, it was a super interesting top match in the Regionalliga. It was super intense, with warm temperatures and a super atmosphere and I think, on balance, it’s a fair draw. From my point of view, of course, we had a slight advantage,” von Ahlen said after the match.
On the next matchday, the Rot-Weiß Oberhausen team will travel to an away game against Rot Weiss Ahlen. Fortuna Köln will host FC Gütersloh next week.