SV Straelen have used their relegation from the Regionalliga West to make a fresh start in the Oberliga Niederrhein. Sunay Acar’s team is in third place at the winter break.

After relegation from the Regionalliga West, SV Straelen realigned itself in the summer. Six months later, Sunay Acar’s team is in third place in the Oberliga Niederrhein, eight points behind leaders Baumberg.

In the Forecasting interview, Acar looks back on the first half of the season with satisfaction, explains why there is no pressure and sums up: “I don’t think we were even worse in the first half of the season.”

Sunay Acar about…

… the first half of the season: After such a messed-up season last year, we had a completely fresh start in the summer. With 17 new signings, our initial task was to find our feet. The boys did an exemplary job and we grew together from match day to match day. Then we got into a flow, but we lost an important player in Kenan Hreljic because he had problems with his visa and had to leave the country. When you lose a player who played in last year’s Conference League qualifiers, among other things, in such a young team, the balance is lost a little. However, the technical and tactical content, which the team has internalized well, has still produced good results. But I’m not a fan of being satisfied. We played a good, decent first half of the season, with ups and downs

“Points Table” src=“https://forecasting-sports.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Screenshot-2024-01-03-001938.png” width=“504” height=“568” /☻

.. the best moment of the first half: the first half against Schonnebeck. I think that was the best we’ve played this season. It was almost flawless, the only small drawback was that we “only” led 2:0. But this first run is our yardstick, because if we can do that over 90 minutes, then we’ll be successful.

… the worst moments: I don’t think we were even worse in the first half of the season. If we lost, it was more due to a lack of experience. The game against TVD Velbert, for example, ended 0:3, but the opposing coach also told us that it’s never a 0:3 game. They get in front of goal three times and score three goals, we have ten hundred percent chances and don’t score. I think our efficiency in front of goal cost us the points at the beginning. You could also mention the game in Uerdingen, where we were leading 3:1 after 69 minutes, shot another man on the line and suddenly the game tipped over and we lost 3:4. But that also happens because we have a very young, inexperienced team.

… the goals for 2024: We don’t have to get promoted with a crowbar, the club didn’t want that either. Instead, we have to build a team and grow together. If we can confirm what we did in the first half of the season and pick up the points we needlessly dropped this time, then that will be progress and we’ll see what we can achieve. We know that we can beat any team in this league. The important thing is that the boys stay hungry and always want more. In terms of personnel, it looks likely that Kenan Hreljic will return in the new year, which would be like a new signing. Then we’ll be looking for another attacking player and an eighth or tenth