The U19 team of SpVg Schonnebeck caused quite a stir in the first half of the season in the Lower Rhine A-Junior League. However, in the second half, they were unable to perform consistently.
SpVg Schonnebeck got off to a good start in the Lower Rhine U19 league and were still top of the table on match day 6. This was mainly due to top scorers Arne Wessels (17 goals in ten games) and Conor Tönnies (eight goals in ten games), the son of coach Dirk Tönnies. The latter was subsequently forced to field the two of them in the senior team more regularly. As a result, the juniors dropped to fifth place.
In the forecasting interview, Tönnies talks about the games that particularly annoyed him and explains why it was nevertheless the right decision to do without his key players.
Dirk Tönnies on…
… the first half of the season: We got off to a very, very good start, performed to our potential until the autumn holidays and were also top of the table. Until then, it was a very, very good season, then we suffered a minor slump. Of course, this was partly due to the fact that I then regularly let Conor (Tönnies, editor’s note) and Arne (Wessels, editor’s note) play for the seniors. On top of that, we had a small injury crisis, where key players and older players were also out. Unfortunately, we couldn’t compensate for that anymore….
the best moment of the season so far: In addition to the good start to the season, there was another highlight game against SG Unterrath on match day 11. We won 3-2 away and the team showed what it was capable of once again.
… the worst moments: We only got two points and left ten behind after the fall break against Arminia Klosterhardt (2:3), VfL Rhede (1:1), SGS Essen (1:3) and SC St. Tönis (2:2), four of the bottom five teams in the table. That’s what bothers us. If you had the ten points more and see where you could be now, then it’s a bit of a shame….
the goals for 2024: The bottom line is that we want to finish in the top six and qualify directly, but in the meantime we thought we could play in the top three. Unfortunately, we were only able to maintain that in the first quarter of the season – also because Arne and Conor were often away. But I can’t punish boys who have developed as well as the two of them at the beginning of the season and hinder their development by not letting them play in the first team, even if it’s at the expense of the U19s.
We are a small club and if I have the opportunity to develop two such extraordinary talents who can take the next step, then I have to accept that, even if it might not be first or second in the Lower Rhine A-Junior League, but fourth or fifth. The goal has been achieved and we have developed boys who can take the next step and then add value to the club.