Third division side Rot-Weiss Essen earned a well-deserved 1-1 (0-1) draw against in-form VfL Osnabrück. Coach Christoph Dabrowski praised his team.

On Tuesday evening, Rot-Weiss Essen faced VfL Osnabrück in their own stadium. A large crowd was expected in advance – and that’s exactly what happened. A total of 17,617 fans made the pilgrimage to Hafenstraße for the floodlit clash between the two traditional clubs.

The spectators saw a 1-1 draw of the better kind.

Osnabrück – the team of the moment in the 3rd division – took the lead with a header from captain Timo Beermann (31st), but RWE gave everything in an eventful second half and were rewarded: Lawrence Ennali scored the deserved equaliser in the 65th minute.

Essen coach Christoph Dabrowski was satisfied with his team’s performance: “We had a few half chances in the first half, but then concede a bitter goal after a standard situation. During the half-time break, we decided to be more active and more intensive. We played a really cool second half, were very pressured and closer to victory. In my opinion, Osnabrück is currently the strongest team in the league. The results have shown that. It’s a shame that the boys didn’t reward themselves for their extreme effort with the win, but we’re happy to take the point. “

After the change of ends, a gripping third league match developed and the Essen crowd honoured the team’s performance with a loud support.

The guys believed in it and then you also saw that the stadium was there. You saw what is possible at Hafenstraße.

Christoph Dabrowski

The football coach also took note of this: “The boys believed in it and then you also saw that the stadium is there. We have seen what is possible at Hafenstraße. At some point, we have to strike the decisive blow. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to do that.”

For the Red and Whites, the English week ends next Saturday (18 March, 2pm) with the next big game. The men from Hafenstraße will then be guests at 1. FC Saarbrücken.