ETB SW Essen is in a ‘typical midfield spot’ in the Oberliga Niederrhein. So far, coach Damian Apfeld has seen some negative things, but also many positive things.

ETB SW Essen was able to compensate for the departure of top scorer Noel Futkeu quite well with Timur Kesim (18 competitive games, 13 goals), but after a rough start, they only managed ninth place at the winter break. They hope to do better in the second half of the season. Damian Apfeld’s team has already been strengthened by the addition of David Leinweber. On the other side, Dominik Reichardt has ended his career.

Damian Apfeld on……

the first half of the season: We can be satisfied with some things, but not with others. We occupy a typical midfield position and that’s exactly how you can classify it. Our hope was that we could start with more euphoria, which would have been very important for the young team. We didn’t manage that and had two points after the first four match days. We also lost one or two experienced players, who were then missed not only on the pitch but also in the dressing room. As a result, we lacked a bit of hierarchy and leadership. These are things that explain why we might not have a few more points on the account.

On the other hand, it’s positive that we’ve got Timur Kesim, a top scorer with a very good goal-to-game ratio. We’ve also fully integrated Collin Weimann, a player from our own U19s, so much so that he’s even started. A few of the young players have taken a step forward and developed.

.. the best moments of the season so far: In the league or in the cup, we didn’t have that one highlight game. Last year, the RWE game was particularly memorable, but this time we just got knocked out by Ratingen in extra time. We played well in Baumberg, who had won everything up to that point, and drew 0-0. If either team had to lose, it was us….

the worst moments: There were two games. One was the derby defeat (6-2 against SpVg Schonnebeck, editor’s note), which was much higher than the game went. Both sides were probably wondering how something like that could even happen. It had a momentum in the second half that you can’t explain in football. It was similar to the 2014 World Cup against Brazil. What also stuck out very negatively was the 1:2 in St. Tönis….

the goals for 2024: We’ll have to wait and see how much movement there is again. We could imagine, if it suits us, to get another player. But he would have to help us directly and maybe also bring a bit of experience. We don’t want to land the next very young, talented player; we have enough of them that we want to give the opportunity to develop. In terms of sport, the second half of the season should go better than the first. We just have to take a step forward. If you look at our results, you’ll notice that we haven’t won a single game against the top six and have only drawn two. In the end, that’s not enough to climb higher. We didn’t lack creativity and quality, but we did lack experience and, to some extent, cleverness. If you want to get in, you have to win these games.