The gap between the bottom of the District League West, St. Martin, and the saving bank is 14 points. But there is a dense crowd in front of the bottom team in the league. Several teams will have to look downwards in the coming weeks. Two direct duels are on the schedule for the coming weekend: On the one hand, twelfth-placed Taiskirchen will host their neighbors from Dorf (tenth place) for a district duel, and on the other hand, Gurten 1b (eighth place) will be visiting the penultimate team in Gilgenberg.
“Aside from the fact that a derby like this is always a question of honor, this time it is also regarding important points in the fight to stay in the league,” says Philipp Gadermayr, sporting director at Union Dorf. The Dorfer kickers have not yet been able to match their performance last season, when they finished as runners-up. “We’re not bringing the consistency we saw last season onto the pitch this year. We also lost a few top performers in the summer,” explains Gadermayr. They have come down to earth, but at the same time they are ready to accept the current situation. “It is our clear goal to get away from the bottom as quickly as possible and to deal with the issue of relegation,” says Gadermayr. The next step towards this goal will be taken on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) in the derby once morest Taiskirchen. “Taiskirchen is a strong home team as usual and has also started the spring well. A difficult task awaits us in any case.”
“Absolutely suitable for the league”
In Taiskirchen they are not only satisfied with the successful start to the second half of the season – coach Markus Runggaldier’s team got four points from the first two games – but also with the fact that the injury list has become many players shorter than in the autumn. “Due to the performances shown in the new year and the improved squad situation, I am confident that we will quickly leave the lower places in the table,” says Taiskirchen sports director Sandro Helml. According to Helml, every game is important in the current situation, so people in Taiskirchen are rather relaxed regarding the upcoming derby. At the same time, however, we are aware of the importance of this game. With a win, the villagers might gain some breathing room and build a five-point cushion over their neighbors. “Of course we have to score our points, nothing else counts for us. This team is absolutely suitable for the district league and we want to make that clear as quickly as possible,” says Helml.
Next games crucial
Union Gilgenberg has also proven its suitability for the league in the past two seasons – and even more than that: Gilgenberg was at the top twice. This year, the Oberinnviertlers find themselves at the other end of the table. Coach Felix Scharinger blames too many draws and the enormous balance in the league as the reasons for the current negative run. Gilgenberg has been waiting for a win since October 22nd. “In recent years we have been spoiled for success, but now things are going the other way around,” says Scharinger. The small nuances – which often decide between victory and defeat in football – are currently missing. “But we have ourselves to blame for that. So we have to try to turn the luck back in our direction,” says the Gilgenberg coach.
Image: Reschenhofer
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Image: Reschenhofer
With a win once morest Gurten on Easter Monday (4.30 p.m.) the gap to the current eighth in the table might be reduced to two points. “In this balanced league, there are no supposedly easy games. You can’t and shouldn’t freak out once morest anyone,” says Scharinger. The next three to four games will show the direction of where the Black and Yellows will go. This was also clearly addressed internally.
