Rot-Weiß Oberhausen lost their first preseason friendly of the current winter training camp 2-5 to VfL Osnabrück. Here’s what Sebastian Gunkel had to say after the game.

0-2, 2-2, and ultimately a 2-5 loss for Rot-Weiß Oberhausen: that’s how the friendly match against third-division side VfL Osnabrück went. Forecasting reported.

Despite conceding five goals, the Oberhausen team put in a solid performance against the promotion contender from the 3rd Division. Accordingly, the players and the coach’s assessment was positive

RWO midfielder Glody Ngyombo said: “First of all, we were glad we were able to play today. The week was particularly challenging for us, as we could only train on artificial turf due to the conditions. Today we focused on our possession-based play, and that worked well at times. It’s unfortunate that we conceded five goals in the end, but we’ll learn from that. Now we’re looking forward to the training camp in Turkey and will prepare as best we can for the second half of the season there.”

Head coach Sebastian Gunkel echoed those sentiments: “We always try to make the best of every situation. The training week was different than usual, so it was important for us that the match took place. The field was in good condition, and Osnabrück really pushed us. The tactical preparation was difficult, as was the transition to natural grass and match mode. The important thing is that no players got injured and that we can travel to the training camp together, where we’ll spend a lot of time together and prepare as best as possible for the second half of the season. “

Head Coach Gunkel’s team will set up their winter camp at the ”TUI BLUE Xanthe” in Side from January 13 to 19, where they will work on the fundamentals for a successful second half of the season.

The Kleeblätter will also play two friendly matches on the Turkish Riviera. On January 14 (4 p.m. local time, 2 p.m. German time) against Northeast Regional League side 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig and on January 18 against Lok’s league rival FSV Luckenwalde (6 p.m., 4 p.m.)

On January 19, Gunkel’s team will then head back toward Oberhausen. On January 24 (Saturday, 2 p.m.), Fortuna Düsseldorf II will visit the Niederrhein Stadium for the first league match of 2026.