MSV Duisburg will face SV Sonsbeck for a spot in the Lower Rhine Cup semifinals—but at a different time than originally planned.
All MSV Duisburg fans should mark this date prominently on their calendars. The Lower Rhine Cup quarterfinal at SV Sonsbeck will now be played on Sunday, November 16, at 1:30 p.m. The Zebras announced this.
The only reason given is “security concerns.” Wolfgang Jades, chairman of the soccer committee at the Lower Rhine Soccer Association, told the “RP” that this relates to the match scheduled for the day before between VfB Homberg and Rot-Weiß Oberhausen.
Since that date has been set for some time, MSV and Sonsbeck have to reschedule. “The Sunday date will definitely cost us some spectators, since many amateur soccer players will also be playing then,” SVS chairman Marc Lemkens told the “RP.”
Either way, it will be a special match—if only for the two coaches, Dietmar Hirsch and Heinrich Losing. After all, the two have known each other for a long time.
“I’m looking forward to Sonsbeck—it’s right around the corner from me. Heinrich Losing is a friend among my fellow coaches. For some unknown reason, our paths keep crossing. We want to advance to the semifinals, so we have to get past Sonsbeck,” Hirsch recently told this newspaper.
Losing is also looking forward to the showdown with his old friend and the third-division team: “Playing against MSV is always a highlight. We’ve played against MSV quite often in recent years, so it’s always something to look forward to. This is a great matchup for us. It’s always nice to be able to compete against MSV at the competitive level. The guys can still learn a lot and take away valuable experience from that.”
The draw at a glance:
Quarterfinals:
SC St. Tönis – VfB Hilden
1. FC Bocholt – Rot-Weiß Oberhausen or VfB Homberg (if Homberg advances, VfB would have home-field advantage)
SV Sonsbeck – MSV Duisburg
FC Büderich – Wuppertaler SV
Semifinals:
SC St. Tönis/VfB Hilden – FC Büderich/Wuppertaler SV
1. FC Bocholt/Rot-Weiß Oberhausen/VfB Homberg – SV Sonsbeck/MSV Duisburg (if Sonsbeck advances, SV would have home-field advantage against Bocholt and Oberhausen)
The final will then take place on Amateur Final Day, which falls on May 23 next year. By then, we’ll also know who will succeed Rot-Weiss Essen, which has won the competition three times in a row.