Rot-Weiss Essen had the 3. Liga’s top match against SV Wehen Wiesbaden under control for much of the game. But in the 1-1 draw, they squandered many chances, and a single lapse in defense was enough.

Rot-Weiss Essen and SV Wehen Wiesbaden wrapped up Matchday 22 in the 3. Liga. One thing is clear: The competition, to some extent, worked in RWE’s favor. MSV Duisburg lost, as did Hansa Rostock, giving RWE the chance to climb to third place.

But Wehen had their own agenda as well. After five wins in their last six matches, they wanted to close the gap to one point behind RWE in Essen. Two plans, neither of which fully worked out in the end. The two teams played to a 1-1 (1-0) draw—though RWE should have won the game.

Following the 4-1 win over Havelse, Essen’s coach Uwe Koschinat made four changes to his starting lineup. Replacing Jannik Hofmann, Tobias Kraulich (both suspended), Kaito Mizuta (ill), and Marvin Obuz were Ben Hüning, making his starting debut for RWE; Michael Kostka; winter signing Ruben Reisig, who was also in the starting lineup for the first time; and Ramien Safi.

Both teams were evenly matched early on, resulting in very few scoring chances. RWE appeared to have slightly more of the play, with Koschinat’s squad attempting to press the opponent high up the field.

It became clear early on that the outcome would depend heavily on efficiency. But to do that, you need chances—and the visitors from Wehen didn’t have any before halftime. That was also due to the strong performance by RWE star team debutant Hüning.

Up front, RWE had two opportunities, one of which was converted. First, Ramien Safi missed miserably after great setups from Torben Müsel and Kostka. Marek Janssen has been showing these days how it’s done. After another strong cross from Kostka, the forward scored a spectacular header to make it 1–0 (34′).

After the break, RWE had to make a substitution. Janssen remained in the locker room with muscle problems; winter signing Danny Schmidt came on in his place.

It was clear that the visitors from Wiesbaden wanted to start much more aggressively than they had at the beginning of the match. They had their first shots on goal, but RWE once again had the better chances. However, neither Safi nor Müsel could make it 2–0.

Wehen struggled after an hour with a disappointing performance; RWE was the better team and looked to seal the win. But one counterattack after another was poorly executed.

They paid the price in the 75th minute: That’s when Wehen capitalized on their first real chance. Out of nowhere, Fatih Kaya scored—Essen’s goalkeeper Jakob Golz was helpless as the shot went through Hüning’s legs.

The score remained 1–1 after 90 minutes. In the end, it was even a lucky result—RWE goalkeeper Golz nearly gave up a 1–2 lead after a mistake in which he lost the ball in his own penalty area. But he managed to make up for his error with great determination.

Nevertheless, given how the game unfolded, the 1–1 draw certainly felt like a loss for RWE. Essen now sits in fourth place in the standings.

RWE’s next match is on Matchday 23, an away game against Alemannia Aachen (Sunday, February 8, 4:30 p.m.). SV Wehen will face 1. FC Schweinfurt on Saturday (February 7, 2:00 p.m.).