MSV Duisburg lost 0:1 at SC Verl. Captain Moritz Stoppelkamp criticised the Zebras’ poor performance after the defeat.

Actually, that’s how it often goes for MSV Duisburg: When things don’t go well up front, captain Moritz Stoppelkamp comes on and saves the Zebras with a single action. But in the 0:1 defeat at SC Verl on Sunday, more than 1,000 Zebra fans waited in vain for the great performance of the veteran and key player (read about the match in the live ticker).

Stoppelkamp was just as pale as his offensive colleagues. Until the final whistle, the Duisburg side did not create a goal-scoring opportunity worth mentioning. The Verlers didn’t fire off any attacking fireworks either, Tobias Knost’s goal after the break (57th minute) was enough for them.

“The way we played – unfortunately it was nothing today. In the end, we were right to lose,” Stoppelkamp said after the final whistle at the Magenta microphone. The defensive performance was okay, “but offensively it was too little”.

Where did the 35-year-old see the reasons for the harmless performance? “We were too despondent, very unfortunate in many actions. I in particular didn’t play at all,” Stoppelkamp answered self-critically. MSV remained without a goal for the second time in a row. And Stoppelkamp, after three goals and four assists in the first five games, is currently going through a bit of a slump. Only one goal has been scored in the last four matchdays – MSV remained winless in each of them.

Stoppelkamp even spoke of a “relapse into the old days” and complained: “Unfortunately, we didn’t put up enough of a fight. Verl did well. It was an absolutely deserved defeat, which probably should have been even higher.”

Nevertheless, despite the upcoming international break, Duisburg will soon have the opportunity to make a comeback. Next Friday (7 p.m.) is the Niederrheinpokal clash with Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. “We have to do better on Friday against RWO,” Stoppelkamp demanded before the clash with his former club. He said it was an extremely important game for MSV. “We haven’t covered ourselves in glory in the cup in recent years. From an economic point of view, we also have to progress and ideally win the cup. “