Heated relegation in Cottbus
Sandro Wagner is on the verge of promotion and farewell
06/07/2023 10:51 p.m
After this season it’s over for Sandro Wagner: The former Bundesliga striker is letting his successful commitment at SpVgg Unterhaching run out. As a farewell, he wants to give his club a return to professional football. And that looks good.
Coach Sandro Wagner is with the SpVgg Unterhaching close to promotion to the 3rd football league. The champions of the Bavarian regional league prevailed 2-1 (2-1) in the heated first playoff game at Nordost title holders Energie Cottbus and created an optimal starting position for the second leg on Sunday (1 p.m.). Niclas Anspach (6th) and Simon Skarlatidis (30th) scored the goals for the Munich suburbs in front of 17,580 spectators. Jonas Hildebrandt (13th) converts a hand penalty to equalize in the meantime.
For Wagner (35), the first coaching station in his career could come to a perfect end with promotion. The former national player leaves the game association after the end of the season. The former Bayern Munich professional has not yet revealed anything about his future.
In the atmospheric Stadium of Friendship, Wagner was delighted after just a few minutes when Anspach used a sloppy energy defense from close range to put the visitors ahead. The Cottbus team coached by Claus-Dieter Wollitz responded angrily. Eric Hottmann missed the quick equalizer (7th). It came after a handball from David Pisot – Hildebrandt scored the penalty safely.
Cottbus plays with force, Unterhaching with routine
The game took place in the predicted lanes. Cottbus played with force, Unterhaching with routine. Bayern had better resources. Patrick Hobsch (25th) headed to the crossbar. Skarlatidis then aimed very precisely from the edge of the penalty area. Wagner was able to lead his team through the narrow player tunnel with a half-time lead.
After the break, Hobsch (58th) missed the possible preliminary decision with a free-standing header. However, Energie then pushed for an equalizer without being able to create any clear chances in a heated mood. Too much Hachinger Zeitspiel complained energy. Wollitz also complained about it and received a yellow card from referee Timo Gerach. His players lacked the strength for a compelling final offensive.
Coaches grumble about promotion regulations
Before the game, both Wagner and Wollitz had expressed their annoyance at the promotion regulations of the regional leagues – as champions they were not automatically seeded, since the five regional leagues only receive four promotion places.
According to a rotating system, a relegation between the divisions North, Northeast and Bavaria is held every year – this time between Unterhaching (Bavaria) and Cottbus (Northeast). VfB Lübeck (North) was “lucky” to go straight up the ladder this year. The same applies to Prussia Münster (West) and SSV Ulm (Southwest), whose leagues have fixed promotion places due to “conurbations”.