Sebastian Kolbe was the first to let his frustration run free. When Daniel Adlung’s inconspicuous shot on goal sailed from the inside post to make it 2-0 into the net, the SpVgg Bayreuth goalkeeper kicked the stud against that post; A little later, Tim Danhof did the same when he was taken from the field and maltreated the bar of the exchange bench. Coach Timo Rost had been pouting thoughtfully for some time. “A team that wants to get promoted has to be much, much braver at home in front of such a great crowd,” he said a little later. Almost 2000 spectators came to the Hans-Walter-Wild-Stadion this time.
The Upper Franconia could have got rid of a competitor in the top game of the regional soccer league against FC Schweinfurt 05 on Saturday. The Schnüdel were already eight points behind this game, even Schweinfurt’s coach Tobias Strobl spoke of a possible “fatal blow” in the event of a defeat before kick-off. But after 15 own goals in the previous three games, Bayreuth lost 3-0 this time. This means that the race for the championship and thus the direct ascent is once again held on four lanes – front-runners FC Bayern II and Wacker Burghausen are still on board.
It was only four and a half months ago that Rost had said about the Schweinfurters that they had a lot ahead of the Bayreuthers. In the second leg of the promotion playoffs to the third division, the home defeat was even one goal higher. While Schweinfurt ultimately just failed at TSV Havelse, Bayreuth strengthened itself in all parts of the team in the summer and brought in several players in Felix Weber, Benedikt Kirsch and Daniel Steininger who already have a lot of third division experience. So far, Bayreuth has marched through the first half of the season more confidently than the competition from Lower Franconia.
More than 20 tons of sand landed on the square – nobody really knows why
On Saturday, however, the “Oldschdod” was again defeated, at least a bit the game reminded me of the one from the end of May. Rost found that there was a lack of “conviction”, especially in the first half of the game. In some situations his players even let themselves be bought off. “Get up now,” he said in the 28th minute at his own player Tobias Weber, when he was left lying down after a duel with Adam Jabiri, his face contorted with pain. In such situations it became clear that the somewhat vague word conviction could be replaced by aggressiveness.
Schweinfurt had done a lot more for the game right from the start and therefore came to more deals than the hosts. The lead then fell through an untenable long-range shot by Kevin Fery, which came about by chance after a corner ball ricochet (10th). Apart from the one big chance by Ivan Knezevic (58th), which Schweinfurt’s goalkeeper Luis Zwick brilliantly defused (58th), the away win was never in serious danger. Substitute Amar Suljic finished the game after a solo run (84th). “The win was too high, but in my opinion it was deserved,” said Schweinfurts Strobl.
The question remained whether the Bayreuthers had not slowed themselves down a bit in other ways this time. The field had an unusually large amount of sand. The managing director of Bayreuth Spielbetriebs-GmbH, Wolfgang Gruber, spoke in the BR of an “embarrassing thing”: More than 20 tons of sand had landed on the square, nobody knew exactly why. The lawn care in the stadium in Bayreuth is taken over by the city.
Gruber’s statement that he had the impression that he was “in a sandpit” could easily be misunderstood: he meant the team’s boyish appearance in the first half. “We need men who don’t play school football,” he said. The team will soon be able to show once again that the team is mature enough for promotion: SpVgg Bayreuth will compete with the successful boys of FC Bayern Munich II on Tuesday in a week.
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
