It was a bitter afternoon for MSV Duisburg. Boris Schommers’ team suffered a bitter setback in Unterhaching (0:1) in the fight against relegation in the 3rd division.

The disappointment was written all over the Zebras’ faces after the 90 minutes at promoted Unterhaching. While SpVgg. are knocking at the top of the 3rd division with one game less than the competition, things are getting tighter again for the Zebras ten matchdays before the end of the season. After the unfortunate 1-0 defeat, they are now five points adrift of safety.

They were unable to take advantage of the slip-ups of the other relegation candidates. Instead of overtaking SV Waldhof Mannheim, the pressure is now increasing again. “Give everything to stay in the league” was the message that the 500 MSV supporters who had traveled with their team gave them after the game, while Boris Schommers was still talking to his players.

Thomas Pledl did not want to talk about a “nasty setback” on the Magenta Sport microphone after the game. “It’s very bitter because we put in a decent performance. It was an even game. We failed to capitalize on two huge chances and conceded a goal. That shouldn’t happen to us. We’ve beaten ourselves yet again.”

It was little things that the Zebras lacked in the end to continue their recent upward trend. The 6,850 spectators at Hachinger Sportpark saw the difference between a top team and a cellar dweller. “We could have left the pitch as winners and played a good away game against an opponent who is having a strong season,” added Pledl.

Schommers, who fielded the same starting eleven as in the home win against Dortmund, also had his doubts after the defeat. The coach addressed the tactical error before conceding the decisive goal in the team circle immediately after the final whistle. “That was completely unnecessary. We completely lacked the rest of the protection. We had our chances and weren’t the worse team. But we had enough time afterwards and should have stuck to our plan. “

The Zebras came away empty-handed for the second time in a row. A home win against 1. FC Saarbrücken next Saturday is almost mandatory in order to close the gap to HFC as quickly as possible