The player of the game: Rafael Garcia escapes in front of the 4-0 Steinbach goalkeeper Eike Bansen (left) and Henri Weigelt.
© Hartfelser
The classic “Oh, how beautiful is that. You haven’t seen something like this for a long time ”more fitting than on Sunday afternoon on the Bieberer Berg. When the song rang out from the throats of the Kickers Offenbach fans after a little more than an hour of play, the chase duel of the Southwest Football Regionalliga had long been decided in favor of the hosts.
Offenbach – 4: 0 (2: 0) it was the end of the game for the Kickers against TSV Steinbach Haiger. And indeed: OFC had not been seen as strong for a long time – especially not in a top game.
“Our victory was well deserved. However, we don’t want to make it brighter than it is, ”said Kickers coach Sreto Ristic, trying not to let the euphoria get out of hand. However: The sixth victory in a row (with 20: 1 goals) was a clear statement: With the Kickers, who reduced the deficit to the leading duo SSV Ulm 1846 and FSV Mainz 05 II to one point, the fight for the title is closed calculate. Steinbach, who also failed in the sixth attempt to win in Offenbach (two defeats, four draws), however, disappointed. “This is a bitter defeat. We wanted to keep the stadium quiet, but we woke it up, “said TSV coach Adrian Alipour:” There are days when nothing works. “Ristic knows this feeling. “I know how it feels,” he said, looking at the 4-0 defeat from last season in Steinbach.
The OFC coach only made one change in personnel compared to the 3-0 success in Giessen, but this resulted in two changes. Instead of Tunay Deniz (yellow-red suspension) Mathias Fetsch was in the starting line-up for the first time this season. The striker joined the attacking midfield. Denis Huseinbasic slipped back and took over the sixth position. “We tried something different during the week, but then decided to bring a player with a lot of experience,” said Ristic. The 33-year-old Fetsch is “verbally very strong”, he organizes the pressing. And the sixth position was not new for Huseinbasic.
It took ten minutes for the Kickers to find their way into the new formation. The initial phase clearly belonged to the Steinbachers, who disrupted the OFC early on. But with increasing duration, the Offenbachers succeeded better and better in adapting to it. Driven by the frenetic backdrop of the 6119 spectators, it was above all on the left side with the towering Rafael Garcia dangerously forward. Almost 1-0 in the 19th minute. Garcia hit a hook in the penalty area and flicked the ball towards the goal, but the ex-Offenbacher Benjamin Kirchhoff cleared with his head. Shortly afterwards Garcia was free again on the left, but was stopped at the last moment (25th). Steinbach’s Tino Bradara never got the left winger under control and saw yellow after just under half an hour. When he fouled Ronny Marcos shortly thereafter (37th), the traffic light card would have been due, but referee Philipp Michels closed both eyes. Alipour responded and brought in Kevin Lahn for Bradara (38th). But Garcia couldn’t get a grip on that either. On the contrary: the 28-year-old was involved in three of the four goals. “He made a huge game,” Ristic praised the ex-Mannheimer.
At 1-0 in the 41st minute, Garcia played a one-two with Fetsch and hit an untenable left corner from around 20 meters. After Steinbach narrowly missed the equalizer (44th), the OFC followed suit immediately before the break: Serkan Firat extended a wide free-kick cross straight into the middle, where the advancing central defender Osarenen Okungbowa pushed in – 2-0 (45th).
Shortly after the break, the preliminary decision is made. Fetsch played Garcia free. He put across Fetsch – 3-0 (50th). Garcia then scored the 4-0 himself. He failed at first at the visiting goalkeeper, but reacted very quickly and pushed the ball into the goal, which was lying in the penalty area. At this point in time there was a party atmosphere in the stadium for a long time.
From Christian Düncher
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