At Rot-Weiss Essen, things are not going well in offense yet – Essen’s Marcus Steegmann is still defending his attackers.

Rot-Weiss Essen had some good chances in the first half of the third division game against Viktoria Cologne. But it went into the break goalless, with two old patterns emerging. Up front, opportunities were wasted, while at the back, an individual mistake by Jimmy Kaparos almost led to another goal against – Bryan Henning’s shot hit the line from the crossbar.

On MagentaSport, Marcus Steegmann, Director of Professional Football at RWE, gave his views on a number of topics during the break:

Marcus Steegmann on…

… the current situation at RWE: “All in all, we are not satisfied. Sixteenth place is not what we had hoped for. There has been a major upheaval – in the whole club. We knew it could be bumpy, and that’s how it turned out. We’ve lost important people, and we’re now in the process of getting the team to gel and take the next step. I’ve seen more than good tendencies here lately.”

… the first half against Cologne: “We had some good chances, but unfortunately didn’t score. Cologne are very well organized, but we still had two great opportunities.”…

the guests hitting the crossbar: “We want to build on our play and Jimmy Kaparos makes a mistake, it’s hard to say whether the ball was in or out. With RWE glasses, the ball was still on the line.”

… the lack of points so far: “You never have time in football. Basically, we also expect that the increasingly better training performances will also lead to points. I don’t want to put a figure on that in games. We just have to get points quickly.”

… the lack of goals from the strikers: “Basically, we have confidence in our strikers. Leonardo Vonic had 15 goals last season, so I expect him to take the next step. Manuel Wintzheimer didn’t have an easy year at Arminia Bielefeld, but he’s a great team player. But he also has to do more. Everyone in the team is required to pose a goal threat. Also via set-pieces, that’s what distinguished us last year. I refuse to be so negative about the offense already.”