Disappointment for Rot-Weiss Essen: After Julian Eitschberger was sent off in the first half, they suffered a deserved 1-3 defeat against SC Verl.

Rot-Weiss Essen just can’t seem to beat SC Verl in the 3rd division. On the eleventh match day, RWE lost 1-3 (0-0) to the Sportclub at home. This means that Verl has now overtaken Essen in the table.

The visitors from East Westphalia took control from the start and had a lot of possession. After five minutes, the Sportclub had its first chance when Berkan Taz found himself free in the Essen penalty area but shot over the goal. RWE became a little more active after that, with Ahmet Arslan trying his luck from distance after a pass from Torben Müsel, but SCV keeper Philipp Schulze was able to make a confident save (14).

Nevertheless, the early stages clearly belonged to Verler, who took the lead in the 22nd minute through Lars Lokotsch, but the goal was correctly disallowed for handball by the striker as he controlled the ball.

After almost half an hour, Essen were down to ten men: Julian Eitschberger fouled Taz tactically and was initially punished with a yellow card. However, referee Nico Fuchs then reversed his decision and showed the U20 international the red card (32)! The fouled player also had to be substituted due to injury.

Christoph Dabrowski’s team now had to survive almost 60 minutes with one man down. RWE pulled back and waited for counterattacks. SC Verl had the upper hand in the first half, but did not pose a serious threat. The teams went into the break with a goalless draw and deafening whistles for the referees.

Thirty seconds after the break, RWE was dealt a blow when Verl combined well through the Essen defense and hit the post. Chilohem Onuoha, who came on as a substitute in the second half, was in the right place at the right time and scored (46′).

The home side almost had an immediate response. Müsel marched through the midfield and then shot, but his effort ended up in the arms of Schulze (53′). In the middle of RWE’s best spell, the Sportclub struck: Onouha played Jonas Arweiler in with a great pass, who then made it 0-2 (56′).

Dabrowski reacted with a triple substitution. Moments later, Essen were awarded a penalty after Michel Stöcker handled the ball. Manuel Wintzheimer confidently converted from the spot to bring RWE back into contention (72′).

Suddenly, everything was up for grabs again, and the home side showed great spirit. Kelsey Owusu had a chance to equalize in the 74th minute, but was denied by a strong save from Schulze. RWE threw everything forward and was caught on the counterattack. Timur Gayret sealed the victory when he had only to tap the ball into an empty net after a counterattack by SCV (89). RWE keeper Jakob Golz prevented a heavier defeat in stoppage time.

RWE’s English week concludes with an away game at FC Hansa Rostock (Saturday, October 26, 2 p.m.), while SC Verl hosts SV Sandhausen (Saturday, October 26, 4:30 p.m.).