FC Mönchengladbachs Juniors Face Tough Losses in Qualifiers
The young talents of 1. FC Mönchengladbach experienced a challenging day on Sunday as they hosted the final day of qualification matches for the Niederrheinliga for A and B juniors. The B-Juniors faced off against powerhouse Rot-Weiss Essen, while the A-Juniors took on SV Budberg. Unfortunately, the results did not go in favor of the Mönchengladbach side, with the B-Juniors falling 0-1 to RWE and the A-Juniors suffering a 1-4 defeat.
A Tough Start
Both FC juniors and the visitors from Essen struggled to find their rhythm initially. The game started with a period of cautious play, each side probing for weak spots in the opponent’s defense. The first shot of the game came from FC in the 24th minute. Just three minutes later, Nikita Schneider had a golden opportunity to take the lead, but his shot narrowly missed the post. Essen then had their chance, but FC goalkeeper Lukasz Konpa denied the visitors from scoring. Essen attempted long-range shots without troubling the FC defense. However, in the 39th minute, a controversial handball decision went against FC, allowing Essen to convert a penalty and take the lead.
In the 65th minute, another contentious decision occurred as an FC player was brought down in the box, but the referee waved play on. Essen held onto their slim lead until the final whistle, leaving FC in third place in the group, a draw which would have been enough to qualify. The team will now continue in the special league.
Next up, the A-Juniors aimed to turn the tide against Budberg. Despite an early chance in the 5th minute, they found themselves trailing after a swift counterattack led to Budberg taking the lead. FC missed two crucial chances before Budberg extended their lead to 2-0 before half-time. President Christian Oh’s halftime talk seemed to energize the team, urging for better communication, decision-making, and resilience in the second half.
Budberg Dominates
However, any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Budberg found the net for a third goal just four minutes into the second half. The lack of defensive pressure on the scorer’s shot was a talking point. Budberg added a fourth goal, with the keeper’s error leading to the ball finding the net. The late consolation goal from Ammar Ibisevic in the 68th minute was not enough to change the outcome, and FC now must regroup for the next stage on neutral ground.
Unfortunately, it was not just FC Mönchengladbach’s juniors who faced disappointment in the qualifiers. ASV Süchteln’s A-Juniors (0-4 loss to Ratingen 04/19) and DJK Giesenkirchen’s B-Juniors (0-6 against SG Unterrath) also missed out on the chance to qualify for the Niederrheinliga.