Rot-Weiss Essen had the top match of the 3rd league against SV Wehen Wiesbaden under control for a long time. But at 1-1, they squandered many chances, and one lapse in concentration was enough at the back.

In the 3rd league, Rot-Weiss Essen and SV Wehen Wiesbaden concluded the 22nd match day. One thing is clear: the competition played in favor of RWE in some respects. MSV Duisburg lost, as did Hansa Rostock, giving RWE the chance to climb to third place. But Wehen also had plans. After five wins in their last six games, they wanted to close the gap on RWE in Essen. Neither plan worked out in the end, as the two teams drew 1-1 (1-0) – although RWE should have won the game. With the 4-1 win against Havelse in mind, Essen coach Uwe Koschinat made four changes to his starting lineup. Jannik Hofmann, Tobias Kraulich (both suspended), Kaito Mizuta (ill) and Marvin Obuz were replaced by Ben Hüning, who made his starting debut for RWE, Michael Kostka, winter signing Ruben Reisig, who also made his first start, and Ramien Safi.

Both teams were evenly matched at the start, which meant that there were hardly any chances. RWE had slightly more of the play, with Koschinat’s team trying to attack their opponents early on.

It was clear early on that efficiency would be key. But to do that, you need to create chances, which the visitors from Wehen failed to do before the break. This was also due to the strong performance of RWE star debutant Hüning.

RWE had two chances up front, one of which they took. First, Ramien Safi missed miserably after great work from Torben Müsel and Kostka. Marek Janssen is currently showing how it’s done. After another strong cross from Kostka, the striker scored with a spectacular header to make it 1-0 (34′).

After the break, RWE had to make a substitution. Janssen remained in the dressing room with muscle problems and was replaced by winter signing Danny Schmidt.

It was clear that the visitors from Wiesbaden wanted to start much more offensively than they had at the beginning of the game. There were some early chances, but RWE had the better opportunities. However, neither Safi nor Müsel were able to make it 2-0.

Wehen put in a disappointing performance after an hour, with RWE looking better and seeking to seal the win. But one counterattack after another was poorly executed.

This came back to haunt them in the 75th minute when Wehen took advantage of their first real chance. Out of nowhere, Fatih Kaya scored, leaving Essen goalkeeper Jakob Golz helpless as the ball went through Hüning’s legs.

The score remained 1-1 after 90 minutes. In the end, it was even lucky, as RWE keeper Golz almost made it 2-1 after losing the ball in his own penalty area. But he was able to make up for his mistake with great effort. Nevertheless, for RWE, the 1-1 draw felt like a defeat after the course of the game. Essen are now fourth in the table.

RWE’s next game is on matchday 23 with an away game at Alemannia Aachen (Sunday, February 8, 4:30 p.m.). SV Wehen plays against 1. FC Schweinfurt on Saturday (February 7, 2 p.m.).