As with the CL final drama in 1999
SV Elversberg experiences bitter FC Bayern moment
08/06/2023 11:32 am
Elversberg’s first home game in the 2nd Bundesliga ends with two late goals. Coach Steffen is frustrated, but wants to build on the performance in Ludwigspark. This unusual finish also comes about because Jannik Rochelt missed a penalty in stoppage time.
Alois Schwartz brought back memories of a legendary Champions League final from 1999 in Saarbrücken’s Ludwigspark. “You can remember it, years ago Bayern Munich led 1-0 up to the 95th minute – and then conceded two goals against Man United. That’s maybe how it felt for the opponents,” said the head coach of Hansa Rostock after the last minute win at SV Elversberg. The two goals to make it 2-1 (0-0) were scored very late in injury time by the guests on Saturday (90th minute/+10 and 90th/+13).
The brace from newcomer Juan José Perea, who came to Rostock from VfB Stuttgart just the day before, came as a shock to Elversberg who had been promoted to the second division. “Of course we are disappointed. Ultimately, the performance remains to be evaluated and it was good for long stretches. We missed putting the lid on it,” said coach Horst Steffen, who looked disgruntled after the three points awarded late. A goal by Carlo Sickinger (55th) was not enough in the end – also because Jannik Rochelt missed the supposed decision with a missed penalty in injury time.
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“It looked like a win for a long time. There were few situations that we had to defuse. We conceded two goals, which turned the game upside down a bit,” said Steffen, who saw a “decent game” from his team . When asked about injury time, the head coach said: “I was surprised by eleven minutes and more minutes on top of that.” The promoted team now has a point from two games. Due to construction work in his own stadium, Elversberg switched to the Ludwigspark in Saarbrücken.
The emotional state of the double packer was different from that of the disappointed Elversbergers: “It’s a dream for me,” said Perea on Sky. “This is for my wife and son.” Actually, everything was planned differently. Until Tuesday, Perea was neither a father nor a Rostocker – but a striker for VfB Stuttgart, who had signed him from PAS Giannina in 2022 for 2.4 million euros. But then a rollercoaster of emotions began.
First of all, Perea witnessed on Tuesday in his former sporting homeland of Greece how his wife Natalia gave birth to their first offspring with the impressive name Giannis Tucidides Perea Tsakoumis. On Wednesday, VfB signed Deniz Undav, which further reduced Perea’s prospects and made a loan deal with Hansa possible. On Thursday, Perea traveled from Greece to Rostock via Berlin, completed the medical check, signed on Friday, traveled to Saarbrücken, was substituted on in the 68th minute on Saturday and finally became a hero.