Before the clash between Dynamo Dresden and Rot-Weiss Essen, the home fans provoked their guests with a huge block flag.

A great atmosphere in this traditional duel: Dynamo Dresden against Rot-Weiss Essen. Almost 2500 RWE fans accompanied their team to Saxony. The special train from Essen set off at 4 a.m. There were no significant delays, and everyone seemed to have made it to the guest section on time, which, by the way, had more supporters than Hallesche FC had brought with them in the East Derby at the time.

This commanded great respect from some Dresden fans on the ground. After all, Halle’s fans would have had a much shorter journey: the two East German cities are barely 150 kilometers apart.

In the K-block, the standing curve of the SGD, a large choreography was presented at the start of the game. “The Guardian of Dark Germany” was written on the banner, and a large block flag was raised showing a knight with the Dynamo logo on his shield.

Also depicted: a skull wearing an RWE scarf. Black smoke pots were ignited in isolated cases.

Inflatable bananas in the away end

Background: When traveling to the east of Germany, you can sometimes hear chants of “West Germany” from Essen fans – and Dresden fans also do it. “East Germany” chants are heard at SGD games. “Anti-social West Germans” was the chant in the stands this Saturday as well. In addition, numerous inflatable bananas were seen in the away end.

Both teams had a lot to play for. After three defeats in four games, Dresden’s lead over third place was down to just two points. At one point, it was ten points.

Essen, on the other hand, saw the chance to reduce the gap to the top three again after the 0-2 defeat to third-placed SSV Ulm. Coach Christoph Dabrowski spoke of a “highlight” before the game. A sold-out house, a great atmosphere – “these are the best games,” said Dabrowski, who extended his contract on Thursday until summer 2026.