The SpVg Schonnebeck U19s caused quite a stir in the A-Junior Lower Rhine League in the first half of the first half of the season. However, little came together in the second half.

SpVg Schonnebeck got off to a good start in the U19 Lower Rhine League and were still top of the table on matchday 6. This was due in particular to top scorer Arne Wessels (17 goals in ten games) and Conor Tönnies (eight goals in ten games), the son of coach Dirk Tönnies. He was subsequently forced to use the two more regularly with the seniors. As a result, the juniors slipped to fifth place.

In the Forecasting interview, Tönnies talks about the games that particularly annoyed him and explains why it was still the right decision to do without his top performers.

Dirk Tönnies on…

… the first half of the season: “We got off to a very, very good start, played to our potential until the fall break and were also top of the table. Until then it was a very, very good season, then we suffered a small slump. Of course, that also had to do with the fact that I let Conor (Tönnies, editor’s note) and Arne (Wessels, editor’s note) play regularly with the seniors. We also had a small injury scare, with top performers and senior players missing out. Unfortunately, we were no longer able to compensate for that.

… 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 matchday 11. We won 3:2 away from home and the team showed once again what it is capable of.

… the worst moments: After the fall break, we only picked up two points 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, and dropped ten. That’s what bothers us. If you had ten more points and saw where you could be now, 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 that we could also play in the top three. Unfortunately, we were only able to maintain that in the first quarter of the season – partly because Arne and Conor were often absent. But I can’t punish boys who have developed as well as the two of them did at the start 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 means that they might not finish first or second in the A-Junior Lower Rhine League, but fourth or fifth. The goal has been achieved and we have then developed boys who can take the next step and then have added value for the club.