After two defeats in a row, third division soccer team VfL Osnabrück is under pressure to succeed in their home game against leaders SV Elversberg. Only a win helps in the promotion race. NDR shows the game live on Saturday.
If your heart is attached to a club where ups and downs seem to be part of it, you might endure some things with more composure. Or with defiance. In the case of VfL Osnabrück, there are already seven relegations from the second division, plus missed promotions from the third division. Perhaps these experiences also contributed to the fact that the supporters of the purple and white intoned after the 0: 3 at TSV 1860 Munich on the previous day: “Third league, it hurts – it doesn’t matter! VfL!”
VfL last twice without their own goal
From the point of view of the supporters who traveled to Munich, everything is clear: the matter is over, their VfL messed it up after two defeats in a row and will also play in the third division next season. And in the final phase of this series, in which Lower Saxony receives leaders SV Elversberg on Saturday (2 p.m., live on TV and in the Livecenter on >), it’s all about a good placement, no longer about promotion.
Team and club are likely to vehemently contradict this impression. This is how sports director Amir Shapourzadeh defiantly put it after the second bankruptcy in a row without scoring his own goal: “The chance is still there!” And because SC Freiburg II is not allowed to be promoted to the second division, VfL coach Tobias Schweinsteiger’s team is actually only five points behind the relegation rank, which Dynamo Dresden currently occupies in fourth place.
Even a draw would hardly help
“There are still seven games left and we won’t stop working,” said Osnabrück’s veteran Marc Heider. The game against the strong climber from Saarland, who is about to march through to the second division, is of great importance. In the event of a defeat, that could indeed have been the case for the North Germans.
However, if they managed to win, it would really give them momentum for the rest of the season. Then, after the final whistle, the VfL fans would certainly sing completely different songs than they did last time in Munich.
Possible lineups:
VfL Osnabrück: Kühn – Traoré, Gyamfi, Beermann, Kleinhansl – Kunze, Köhler, Tesche – Rorig, Engelhardt, Simakala
SV Elversberg: Kristof – Fellhauer, Sickinger, Correia, Neubauer – Jacobsen, Sahin – Feil, Rochelt – Koffi, Woltemade
This topic in the program:
sports club | 15.04.2023 | 2:00 p.m