Rot-Weiss Essen used the international break to play a test match against Borussia Dortmund II. Coach Uwe Koschinat was satisfied, but sees room for improvement.

Rot-Weiss Essen won 1-0 against Borussia Dortmund II in a test match behind closed doors on Friday.

A total of 20 players were used by RWE, with only Michael Schultz and Gianluca Swajkowski, who had to come off in the 70th minute due to muscle problems, not being substituted at half-time.

Uwe Koschinat wanted to give all his players the opportunity to play in a competitive environment. After the game, the coach spoke of a “challenging test against a team that took us seriously.” The coach continued: “I think there was a lot of competition in this test, the intensity and pace were very close to what we are used to in the championship.” The test therefore fulfilled its purpose. But what about the performance? “We were brutally dominant in the first 15 to 25 minutes and did a lot of what I wanted on the pitch. We had a very structured build-up play, got into the penalty area in a targeted manner and defended with concentration. Dortmund found it difficult to get into the game at all.”

The last phase of the half, on the other hand, went more to BVB. “We had issues with losing possession and defending against counterattacks. We were able to defend well, but dangerous situations still arose.”

These are problems that RWE is familiar with from the 3rd division. And they want to fix them. “We need to work on this issue in particular: How risky and determined do we need to be in attack to create chances? And on the other hand: how much do we have to assess the risk and defend against counterattacks so that we don’t constantly allow one-on-one situations against our goalkeepers?”

According to the 54-year-old, the second half was much more turbulent, more focused on tackles, and less clean. On both sides. Nevertheless, Rot-Weiss Essen took the lead in the 71st minute. Franci Bouebari crossed and Nils Kaiser only had to put his foot out. But on the other hand, we allowed them too much, were sloppy in our defending, and let them into the box, which is something we don’t want to do. We couldn’t have complained if we had conceded a goal.”

RWE’s next 3. Liga match is away at Jahn Regensburg on Friday, September 12 (7 p.m.).