On Saturday (25 March, 3 p.m.), Rot-Weiß Oberhausen will face Ratingen 04/19 in the first semi-final of the Niederrheinpokal. Especially the exchange of home rights was in focus before the match.
Four teams in the Lower Rhine Cup are still dreaming of the first round of the DFB Cup. Of a six-figure income, of a home match against Schalke, Bayern or Borussia Dortmund.
On Saturday (3 p.m.), the first semi-final will take place between regional league team Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and upper league team Ratingen 04/19. The match, which was supposed to be played in Ratingen, will now take place at the Niederrhein stadium – RevierSport reported.
This decision was made at the safety meeting in Ratingen. Although RWO would also have played in Ratingen, Oberhausen’s president Hajo Sommers emphasised: “We only pointed out that we would not be responsible for any damage to the new tartan track.”
The background: The city of Ratingen has spent a lot of money to modernise the stadium. Because the all-around meeting, one of the biggest highlights in the national athletics calendar, has been held there for years.
And presumably there were fears that parts of the RWO fans might take a fancy to the modernised facility. So the case is different here, not like in other encounters where violence-prone individuals from the vicinity of a club were used as the reason for the home-rights swap.
With a view to the finances, Sommers assumes that in the end there will be more for the Oberliga club than in a home match. He expects around 2,000 more spectators than would have been the case if the match had been played in Ratingen: “I’m hoping for 4,000 spectators, if the weather plays along. The Bundesliga has a day off, so some people who don’t usually come can come.”
And then, after 90 or 120 minutes, RWO should be in the final. Even Sommers thinks that the team will “manage it, I was more pessimistic”.
The president of the cloverleaves still has home games in the association cup in mind, where victories that were thought to be safe were squandered. Like against Hönnepel-Niedermörmter or Baumberg.
That was so bad, it can only get better
Hajo Sommers on the game in Düren
This must not happen again now. There is another reason why Sommers believes in success. And that is the last league defeat (1:3) at 1. FC Düren. Sommers: “That was so bad, it can only get better.”
And should the final be reached, the RWO boss will be keeping his fingers crossed for 1. FC Bocholt against Rot-Weiss Essen in the second semi-final; after all, a final success against the regional league team would be easier to achieve on paper than against the third league team.
On the other hand: A final in Essen, with RWO also applying for a final as a venue, would also flush up to 150,000 euros into the Oberhausen coffers with a sold-out stadium at Hafenstraße (19,100 visitors). This is because the total revenue is shared, with the association receiving five per cent beforehand.
But before this calculation, there is Saturday and the semi-final against Ratingen.