SC Verl and 1. FC Saarbrücken shared the points at the start of the 17th matchday of the 3rd league.
In the 1:1 (1:1) on Friday evening in Verl, the home team took the lead in the 23rd minute through Dominik Steczyk. Richard Neudecker equalized before the break (37th). Verl remains in tenth place in the middle of the table with the point, Saarbrücken climbs to second place, at least temporarily.
Verl superior, Saarbrücken surprisingly equalizes
In the early stages, both teams were good defensively and didn’t allow much. In the 13th minute, Verl shot dangerously at the opposing goal for the first time, Niko Kijewski was denied by FCS goalkeeper Phillip Menzel. Steczyk made it better in the 22nd minute. The Verl striker was served by Berkan Taz in the penalty area and hammered the ball under the crossbar and into the goal to make it 1-0.
After the opening goal, Verl initially didn’t allow much until Saarbrücken came out of nowhere to equalize. After a strong pass from Patrick Sontheimer, Neudecker appeared in front of the Verl goal, went around goalkeeper Philipp Schulze and pushed in to make it 1-1 (37th). The SC continued to dominate the game until the break, but it was no longer compelling.
Lokotsch’s goal doesn’t count
Even after the break, Verl was initially the better team and was repeatedly threatened by the strong Taz. A goal from Lars Lokotsch (52nd) was not recognized because the loser was said to have pushed his opponent illegally. A shot from Kijewski was cleared by Saarbrücken (58th).
The guests from Saarland also had good phases in the second half, but were not really dangerous in front of the Verl goal. After little happened for a long time, substitute Chilohem Onuoha almost put Verl back in the lead with a long-range shot, but Menzel made a brilliant save (80′). Five minutes before the end, Saarbrücken also had a double chance. Initially, Kai Brünker was denied by Schulze, and Tim Civeja narrowly missed the goal in the follow-up shot (87′). Even in just under five minutes of injury time, neither team managed to score the winning goal.
