Kick-off again in the Landesliga Niederrhein 2! VfB Speldorf welcomes the bottom team in the table, SV Hönnepel-Niedermörmter. Julien Schneider assesses the situation.

VfB Speldorf find themselves in a bit of a no-man’s-land in the Lower Rhine Regional League 2. The Mülheim-based club have made themselves comfortable in eighth place.

It won’t be so easy to move up the table, because VfB is now eight points behind second-placed Niederwenigern. What’s more, the Sportfreunde have played a game less than their opponents. The bottom of the table is a comfortable nine points away.

Julien Schneider, who took over at Speldorf in the winter, ensured that the preparation was used to its full potential despite the relaxed situation regarding the table: “We tried to quickly get into the swing of things and were able to convince in terms of play over long stretches. Due to the cup exit, which we of course imagined differently, there was also a lot of shadow – fitting for such a preparation.”

Despite their position in no man’s land, there are of course resolutions for the new year in Speldorf too: “Our team is very young and we want to try to develop them further – to some extent independently of results. Nevertheless, these are of course the main focus. It’s important to throw yourself into every game again.”

We will definitely not underestimate HöNie, to whom I would like to express my respect by the way. They have now made a clear cut for themselves and are concentrating on training their players.

Julien Schneider

The Schneider XI will kick off the 2024 football year with a home game against bottom-of-the-league SV Hönnepel-Niedermörmter.

With just five points, the team from Kleve is bottom of the league and most likely already relegated. After only 21 games played, the gap to safety is already 22 points. That’s a real hurdle to overcome.

Nevertheless, the Speldorf coach does not want to underestimate the opponent and praises the rival: “We are focusing on ourselves. We will definitely not underestimate HöNie, to whom I would like to express my respect by the way. They have now made a clear decision for themselves and are concentrating on training their players.”

Schneider continued: “Nevertheless, we are aware that each of us expects three points. This also corresponds to our expectations for the coming weekend.”