Third division club Rot-Weiss Essen slipped into a relegation spot on the twelfth match day. This is how Christoph Dabrowski assesses the 0-4 defeat in Rostock.

“It was a bitter afternoon for us and the end of a bitter English week.” That was Christoph Dabrowski’s opening statement after the game at the Ostseestadion.

The long journey to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania ended in huge disappointment for Rot-Weiss Essen. RWE had hoped to make up ground in the relegation battle in the third division, but after losing 1-3 to Verl, they suffered another setback. The third division team lost 0-4 to Hansa Rostock.

It was simply not enough in all areas of the team. Dabrowski was particularly annoyed about the defensive performance. “We wanted to man-mark the ball. That led to the spectators seeing a wild game in the first half. Because of this man-marking, we were often involved in defensive duels. Unfortunately, we didn’t defend well individually on the wing in a two-on-one situation for the first goal. That’s the shortcoming we need to work on during the week. We’re conceding too many goals and defending too carelessly,” emphasized the RWE coach.

The second half was wide open for a long time, but only because Jakob Golz made two brilliant saves. Once again, the RWE players were not close enough to their opponents in some situations. Rostock’s second goal in the 77th minute sealed the deal, and Golz had to pick the ball out of the net twice more after that. “We disappointed our fans today. A 4-0 defeat like that feels extremely bitter, of course,” admitted Dabrowski.

We are below our expectations in terms of points and are aware of the precarious situation. Now we have to work hard to improve our situation as quickly as possible. That will be necessary.

Christoph Dabrowski.

However, the 46-year-old also looked straight ahead. On the next match day (November 2, 2 p.m.), third-division newcomers Energie Cottbus will be guests in Essen. RWE now has to show a reaction at Hafenstraße. The coach is well aware of this:

“We have a whole week of training ahead of us and are currently in a situation where we need stability, especially defensively. That’s what we’ll focus on. We’re below our expectations in terms of points and are aware of the precarious situation. Now we have to work hard to improve our situation as quickly as possible. That will be necessary.”