SSVg Velbert had started its planned comeback campaign in the Regionalliga West with great enthusiasm. The minutes before and after halftime against Sportfreunde Lotte were a bitter setback.
The Regionalliga West make-up game featured a clash between two teams at the bottom of the standings. While Sportfreunde Lotte was able to secure its place in the middle of the table with a 3-0 win at SSVg Velbert, things are looking increasingly dire for Velbert.
“We started this training week with a lot of enthusiasm and had set our sights high,” Velbert coach Bogdan Komorowski revealed after the match. “We were happy to be able to play. The game started well; we had our moments. With a little bit of luck, we could have taken the lead, but unfortunately we missed that opportunity.”
It’s also true that Lotte didn’t allow many chances for long stretches of the game. Only Robin Hilger had an excellent scoring opportunity, but he shot the ball into a Lotte player’s face from close range (25th minute). Then came the turning point of the game.
Right back Ismael Remmo received two yellow cards for unnecessary fouls along the sideline and was sent off in the 40th minute. Just before halftime, Shkrep Stublla scored the 1–0 for the visitors (45’+2).
Held their own well, but paid the price while down a man
“We wanted to keep the game open as long as possible; the 0–1 was supposed to stay on the scoreboard so we could launch a final offensive. We didn’t manage to do that,” the coach said, watching his plans go up in smoke right after halftime. Because in the 49th minute, it was Ben Klefisch who scored the decisive 2–0 goal.
“Even though the winter break was short, there was already a certain amount of euphoria,” captain Felix Herzenbruch also noted. “We got off to a good start, but it’s the same old story. Individual mistakes, two yellow cards, the 0–1 just before halftime—a long ball, we were basically playing two against two, and then the ball was in the net. Really bitter. Then we didn’t get a clear penalty; the ref didn’t blow the whistle—it was just one of those days.”
All in all, we deserved to win. Even at eleven against eleven, we had more control of the game.
Fabian Lübbers
Visiting coach Fabian Lübbers was clearly more satisfied. “All in all, we deserved to win. Even at eleven against eleven, we had more control of the game. We didn’t give much away and created a few chances. The red card then worked in our favor. It was very, very good that we were able to score the 1-0 right away on our next attack. We wanted to stay patient, and then quickly scored the 2-0. Things got a little trickier again on corner kicks. By the time we made it 3-0, the game was decided.”
The action continues next weekend. Sportfreunde Lotte will host SV Rödinghausen on Saturday (January 24). Kickoff at the Stadion am Lotter Kreuz is at 2 p.m. At the same time, SSVg Velbert will take the field in another relegation battle. At the Stadion am Zoo, they’ll face Wuppertaler SV.