It was the last professional football game in Germany before the World Cup in Qatar, and for TSV 1860 Munich it was the last chance after a dreary few weeks to go into the winter break in a reasonably forgiving manner – that didn’t work out, despite a brief lead from a penalty kick by Albion Vrenezi ( 76.). But a header from Rot-Weiss Essen’s Felix Bastians in injury time ended the game 1-1 (0-0). Sixty overwintered in sixth place in the third division table.
“It was very, very bitter,” said goal scorer Vrenezi after the game about the late equaliser. According to the midfielder, the winter break can do you good, so that you can be back on the pitch stronger afterwards. “In terms of fighting, what we showed was definitely good,” said defender Christopher Lannert afterwards, “we fought hard, it was a very intense game.” The late equalizer felt “pretty crappy”.
The game was characterized by few chances, but by a lot of ignited pyrotechnics in the curves. Before there was a real high, there was a low: Semi Belkahia had to be substituted after twelve minutes, apparently he had injured his knee long before the game was stopped. “We can’t say what it is yet,” said coach Michael Köllner after the game, and more will be known on Tuesday. Incidentally, Joseph Boyamba and Martin Kobylanski were dropped from the squad before the game. As an explanation, Köllner only said that the squad was so large that it always hit someone.
“And you’re not going up anyway,” echoed the guest block
Leandro Morgalla had to play earlier than expected because of Belkahia’s injury. A moment of shock followed for Köllner when Morgalla was also on the ground immediately after being substituted on, but he was able to continue playing. After that only sporadic sporting highlights followed. Marius Wörl had the best opportunity before the break, who narrowly missed the far post with a cross (22′). On the other side, Niklas Tarnat hit the post with a free kick (37′). In the second half, too, it took a long time before the sixties were able to convert their superiority into dangerous shots. Lannert fired a long-range shot just wide of the goal in the 72nd minute.
The supposedly decisive scene then happened fifteen minutes before the end: Substitute Marcel Bär held the ball for a long time, Essen’s Björn Rother wanted to clarify, but only hit Stefan Lex. Vrenezi converted the penalty kick confidently (76th), ending a goal drought of 355 minutes without a hit. Sixty then had a few counterattack opportunities, but also lacked precision in creating clear scoring chances in the final phase. According to Köllner, “drowsiness” in a standard situation in the final minutes then meant that the liberation failed to materialize.
Overall, however, Köllner was quite satisfied with his team’s performance, which had “shown a reaction to Freiburg”. After unrest had arisen in the past few days – Köllner had spoken of disruptive fire from the club – the question at the press conference was inevitable as to whether the 52-year-old still felt the full support of the club. “Yes,” Köllner answered briefly and concisely.
Two intensive months were now waiting for his team, said Köllner – and he firmly assumed that he would accompany them. The last chants of the year, which echoed through the Grünwalder Stadium, came from the guest block: “And you’re not going up anyway,” could be heard there. It is necessary to disprove them.
