In the last game of a disappointing season, the players of Kickers Offenbach show what they can do and say goodbye after a deserved 1-0 (0-0) win at Eintracht Trier with a declaration of war. Sports director Christian Hock meanwhile wants to announce the first personal details next week.
Offenbach – On his birthday, the Offenbacher Kickers players at least gave their club a small present and ended the season in the Southwest Regional Football League with a win. “Of course that can’t be a liberation,” said left-back Ronny Marcos, referring to the disappointing season. The final and deserved 1-0 (0-0) at the bottom of the table Eintracht Trier, who had already been relegated, was “a very good conclusion”, said Christian Hock, the new sporting director.
The 53-year-old even said that the game “was by far the best of the three games I saw live because we were dominant from the first second”. Hock saw the Kickers for the first time in the 2-0 defeat in Mainz. However, he was not officially in office at that time. In the following 2:1 against Bahlingen, on the other hand, it was. In Trier he now experienced an OFC team that, despite personnel problems, determined the game without being brilliant. “Lots of ball possession, lots of action in the last third and lots of chances” saw Hock, but also the well-known problems: too little was made of the opportunities. Among other things, Lucas Hermes (11th) and Julian Albrecht only hit the aluminum (60th).
In the 78th minute, the OFC finally rewarded themselves for a committed performance against low-lying and generally harmless hosts. Mike Feigenspan, who was conspicuous again, put the ball across to Björn Jopek in the penalty area, who deliberately hit the bottom right corner. It was his seventh goal of the season. This puts him second in the internal shooting list – behind Jakob Lemmer (8), who switched to SG Dynamo Dresden in the winter.
The Kickers only allowed the Trierers three chances, two of them through goalkeeping errors. Maximilian Engl dropped the ball after a cross, but then made a strong save (56′). But he got injured and had to go out. Michael Zadach came in for him – and misjudged once when running out (69th). The colleagues clarified.
“The victory was more than justified, even if we struggled for a long time,” Feigenspan summed up. And Marcos said: “It was fun to play football. We let the ball run and had good relays. The problem was that things only went well up to the goal.” Alfred Kaminski took a similar view: “We were very dominant and in the last two games we showed a bit what we can do and how I want to play football. We are athletes and we want to win every game. The team also showed that.” The most loyal of the loyal fans (around 120 had made the trip to Trier) chanted “OFC, OFC” when the team thanked the supporters for their support. A large poster hung on the fence of the guest block: “05/27/1901 – 122 years of Kickers Offenbach – a love that never goes away.” Marcos promised: “We will attack again and definitely come back stronger.”
But first it’s time for the players to take a summer break. Or as Hock said: “The boys have just finished work and are going on vacation. You will of course get a transition plan.” So homework to stay fit. It is still unclear who will be back on the pitch at the start of training (probably June 26). In the middle of next week, the OFC wants to use a press release to inform who it is planning with for the coming season – and with whom it is not.
The kits for the 2023/24 season are set to be presented to the public on June 27th. The first preparatory games will take place from July. “A lot has already been fixed,” says Hock, who wants to present the new coach next week, or at the latest the week after that. “That has the highest priority, after that we will continue to plan the squad.”
The fact that the OFC in Trier only had 17 players on the registration form, including four talents from the U19 and U21, was for Hock “not a sign that you have to interpret. We had a few injuries, Semir Saric was suspended.” That’s how Can Karakus from the U21s made his professional debut shortly before the end.
By Christian Düncher
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