SVWW narrow defeat to Champions in season finale
Pros |
SV Wehen Wiesbaden have a midweek match coming up, but there's no hint of tiredness in the camp. "We look forward to every game. That's why we do this job – obviously ideally in front of fans, but that's not possible right now." Armed with a healthy blend of excitement and optimism, the Red & Blacks will welcome SV Sandhausen to the BRITA-Arena on the evening of Tuesday 26 May (18:30 CET).
Personnel matters: SVWW are used to rotating to account for suspensions, with the duo of Sascha Mockenhaupt and Benedikt Röcker having both served a ban in Heidenheim after accumulating five bookings. "Dominik Franke and Jerre Lorch did a very good job," said head coach Rüdiger Rehm at the compulsory pre-match press conference. On Tuesday evening, SVWW will be without another key performer – Stefan Aigner – for the same reason. Rehm already has several ideas about who he can draft in as a replacement. "We have options in this situation too. Any player who comes into the team must be a good fit." Captain Sebastian Mrowca sustained an ankle injury in a collision in the 65th minute of the Heidenheim match. Only time will tell whether he is able to feature, the head coach revealed on Monday lunchtime.
The scenario: "We were frustrated because we believe – and I am convinced – that we could have gotten more from the game," said Rehm as he reflected on the 1-0 defeat away to 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 on Friday evening. "We know how tight the league is, but we're holding our own at present." That said, Rehm believes his team need to show a "tad more precision" going forward. "We operated well in terms of our build-up play, but in the final third it didn't really work out. I'm now expecting a reaction; everyone was highly self-critical."
Outlook: "We're on the home straight," said the Red & Blacks' head coach. Which makes tomorrow's clash with SVS at the BRITA-Arena all the more important. SVWW have back-to-back English weeks coming up and will be aiming to pick up as many points as possible during this period. "We didn't make a good start on Friday, so we need to be better tomorrow."
The opposition: SV Sandhausen are still waiting for their first three points since the season restarted. They resumed their campaign with a 3-1 loss at Erzgebirge Aue, before playing out a goalless draw against Jahn Regensburg last weekend. There are only two points separating SVS and SVWW in the table. Rehm believes Uwe Koschinat has an athletic and dynamic team. "Due to our precarious predicaments, I think it'll be a hard-fought match."
Man of the Match: As always, you have the opportunity to vote for your Man of the Match. Simply cast your vote in the Match Center on the SVWW website anytime between kick-off and midnight on the day of the game and win a shirt signed by the Man of the Match!