ESC Rellinghausen went into the winter break five points behind the leaders in the Landesliga Niederrhein Staffel 2.

ESC Rellinghausen is one of VfB Bottrop’s most persistent rivals in the race for promotion to the Oberliga. At the halfway point of the season, Essen is five points behind the still undefeated VfB.

Coach Sascha Behnke emphasized a few days ago that he still believes in the big chance: “From the beginning, our goal was to play at the top, and that’s working out pretty well so far. The two defeats were annoying and avoidable, but Bottrop will also lose. I don’t see them as being as strong as Dingden or Frintrop were last season. The league is balanced, and that’s a good thing.” Just in time for the turn of the year, ESC Rellinghausen ended its mini losing streak of two consecutive defeats with a derby win against FC Kray (2-1).

Sascha Behnke, how would you assess your team’s first half of the season?

We’ve had a great first half of the season, which we can be very happy with. We’re continuing to pursue our goals and want to be among the top teams. The league is evenly matched, which makes it a lot of fun.

What has been the highlight for you so far?

The games against SV Budberg, Sportfreunde Niederwenigern, and DJK Sportfreunde Katernberg were good. That was fun. But Katernberg was more emotional, when you clinch the victory with the last action.

And what has been the most negative experience?

All the defeats, of course, although it’s not or wasn’t negative, just avoidable.

Will there be any changes to the squad during the winter break?

Two players who were at the back of the squad will be leaving us and, as things stand, only one player, Maurice Muschalik, will be joining us. However, we want to build him up carefully after his cruciate ligament rupture. What is your goal for the rest of the season? In the second half of the season, we want to confirm the first half and simply stay at the top.