Third division club Rot-Weiss Essen have reached the quarter-finals of the Lower Rhine Cup. This is how Christoph Dabrowski sums up the confident progress in Straelen.

After three league wins in a row, Rot-Weiss Essen traveled to Römerstraße on Tuesday evening with a broad chest. There, the third-division side hosted top-division side SV Straelen in the round of 16 of the Lower Rhine Cup. “We saw last season what can happen in the Lower Rhine Cup,” warned Christoph Dabrowski ahead of the knockout game.

What the coach meant by that was that RWE only saved themselves from an early exit twice in penalty shoot-outs against lower-ranked opponents last season.

However, the team from Essen were able to avoid another nail-biter: Dabrowski’s team won confidently 4:0 (2:0) at the Oberliga club.

After an evenly-matched opening period, the visitors increasingly took control of the game. Before the half-time break, Ron Berlinski (37) and Torben Müsel (40) put the team on course for victory with a double strike. In the second half, Nils Kaiser (47) and Moussa Doumbouya (88) added two more goals. Their progress was never in danger

Dabrowski was correspondingly satisfied after reaching the quarter-finals. “Our opponents tried to make life difficult for us, to keep a clean sheet for as long as possible and to make pinpricks. We approached the game seriously. The fact that we were able to score two goals before the break made life a lot easier for us. The 3:0 after half-time gave us the confidence we needed to finish the game in style,” said the 45-year-old with delight.

I’m happy that we won the game and are through to the next round. That was the clear goal. Every win is important for self-confidence. This was our fourth win in a row. It gives us a lot of confidence.

Christoph Dabrowski

Dabrowski continued: “I’m happy that we won the game and are through to the next round. That was the clear goal. Every win is important for self-confidence. This was our fourth win in a row. It gives us a lot of confidence. It was my first time in Straelen. It’s a great facility. I would like to thank them for their hospitality and wish the club every success for the season.”

Rot-Weiss Essen continue their 3rd division campaign with a double-header of home games: their next two opponents are Arminia Bielefeld (November 4, 2 p.m.) and SV Waldhof Mannheim (November 12, 4.30 p.m.).