SV Straelen, a team from the top division, will face Rot-Weiss Essen in the Lower Rhine Cup round of 16. RevierSport asked coach Sunay Acar for his initial assessment.
Things are going really well for SV Straelen at the moment. The team, which was relegated from the Regionalliga, has won each of its last three competitive games by zero goals. The reward: SVS is in third place in the Oberliga Niederrhein table, and head coach Sunay Acar’s team has also qualified for the Niederrheinpokal round of 16.
There, the Oberliga club drew the big draw last Saturday: Rot-Weiss Essen will travel to Römerstrasse in the round of the last 16 teams (Wednesday, October 25). The first reaction is positive at the club from the Dutch border.
Acar explained to RevierSport: “In terms of name, Rot-Weiss Essen is the measure of all things in the Lower Rhine Cup. RWE is a great traditional club. It’s always fun to play against this club – especially at Hafenstraße. They simply have great and loyal fans. When you watch a game at Hafenstrasse as a neutral spectator, you are captivated by soccer. We are happy about the draw against Rot-Weiss Essen. In the cup, you can’t choose your opponent anyway.”
The 45-year-old Acar has already faced RWE four times as coach of VfB Homberg. All four games were lost. In February 2022, however, only two minutes were missing to win a point. In the fifth attempt, it should now work for the first time with a sense of achievement against the third-division team.
On this day we want to appear with a broad chest, because we have nothing to lose. Rot-Weiss Essen probably didn’t necessarily jump for joy when they heard SV Straelen. There were also a few games that have not gone so well for RWE lately.
Sunay Acar.
“This cup duel is a highlight for many of my players. Of course, it will be a great challenge for my young team. We will try to live up to our role as dangerous underdogs. On this day, we want to appear with a broad chest because we have nothing to lose. Rot-Weiss Essen probably didn’t necessarily jump for joy when they heard SV Straelen. There were also a few games that didn’t go so well for RWE recently,” stresses Acar.
What the Duisburg native means by that: In 2021, Straelen already managed the surprise once and won in the Lower Rhine Cup semifinal in Essen after a penalty shootout. Just over three months later, RWE lost 4-1 to the outsiders in the Regionalliga, but Straelen will now face the defending champions at home compared to these two games.
At least Sunay Acar is confident that the home ground will not have to be swapped and that the cup round of 16 can be played – as planned – at Römerstraße: “I assume that we will be able to play at our stadium. We have often mastered such games in the past and managed them well. If perhaps even 2,000 or 2,500 spectators come, then there will be a completely different impact in this stadium. “
