Hansa Rostock or Alemannia Aachen: Which team will climb into the midfield, who will stay lower down? The home team will have to do without their playmaker for this mission.
On Saturday, fans of the 3rd league can look forward to a real traditional duel: Hansa Rostock will face Alemannia Aachen in the Ostseestadion. 24,000 spectators are expected at the meeting between the relegated and promoted teams. The stadium opens at 12 noon, and tickets are still available.
Central defender Dominik Lanius will not be able to play for the home team. The new signing from Fortuna Köln, who has not yet played due to injury, suffered a torn medial ligament and will be out for months. Hansa coach Bernd Hollerbach confirmed this before the Aachen game:
“Unfortunately, Dominik Lanius tore the medial ligament in his knee again in the friendly against Phönix Lübeck. That is of course bitter, also for him. He had tried conservatively, i.e. without an operation. Now he has decided to have an operation. I think that is the right decision. He will probably be out for a longer period after the operation.”
Cedric Harenbrock will also probably be out. The 26-year-old should not be used too much before the upcoming English week. “Cedric had problems with his adductors again after the Aue game. That’s why we took him out, and he will probably be out too. We have drawn up a plan for Cedric with a specialist. Unfortunately, it’s been dragging on for too long for him, as he arrived from Essen already injured. It’s not that bad. But we want to get him 100 percent fit. King Manu is also out, but he’ll be back in a week or two. Otherwise, everyone is on board and fit,” explained Hollerbach.
Cedi is one of our best footballers. He also proved last year that he’s a goal threat. He’s a very, very important player for us and we’re already missing him – there’s no question about that.
Bernd Hollerbach on Cedric Harenbrock.
Back to Cedric Harenbrock: After seven years at Rot-Weiss Essen, the number 10 moved to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the summer. Recently, his adductor problems kept setting him back, but he has already managed to provide two assists. Hollerbach sees the blond as an important building block: “Cedi is one of our best footballers. He also proved last year that he is a goal threat. He is a very, very important player for us and we miss him – there’s no question about that.”
Even without Harenbrock, the second home win of the season should be achieved against Aachen. That must be the aim of the second division relegated team. The coach, however, warns of the robust guests from the imperial city:
“There is continuity in Aachen, they were promoted together and the processes are clear. They played a great game in Dresden. Aachen is a physically strong team that presents itself as a unit and is very difficult to beat. We must not underestimate them under any circumstances, we have to accept the fight and hold our own.”