A 0:2 deficit overturned, the third win in a row – the start to the new year was successful for 1860 Munich. However, nobody at Grünwalder Straße wants to know anything about promotion ambitions.
The Löwen’s win against SV Wehen Wiesbaden did not point the way forward, the mid-table of the 3rd division is simply too close together for that. The Hessians are only two points behind the Munich side, who are four points off the third-place relegation spot. However, Michael Köllner and his Löwen are certainly on the right track: three wins in a row are the latest successes of a team that was hanging just above the relegation zone just a few weeks ago.
Standard training during the winter break pays off
At first, against Wiesbaden, it looked as if the Munich side would have to put a damper on their development. SVWW led 2:0 after less than 25 minutes. But his team showed a “brutal will”, said Köllner after the match on “Magenta Sport”. Semi Belkahia (36th), Stephan Salger (50th) and Richard Neudecker (69th) turned the game around with their goals and ensured a 3:2 victory for the Munich team.
The fact that all three Löwen goals in the Grünwalder Straße stadium came from stationary balls came as only a limited surprise to the coach: “We have been working intensively on standards in training. That paid off today.”
Neudecker scored the winning goal directly from a free kick – albeit decisively deflected by Stefan Lex. “I had already had a free-kick before that, which the goalkeeper took out quite well. Then I thought that maybe he was speculating on a ball over the wall,” said Neudecker. So he decided to go for the goal corner, his captain ran into the shooting lane and steered the ball into the goal. “You can rely on Lex, of course,” Neudecker said of his deflected winning goal.
Neudecker and Köllner don’t want to know anything about promotion
When asked about the Löwen’s good form and possible glimpses of the promotion places, the midfielder reacted clearly: “We were beaten down so badly in the Hinrunde. To talk about promotion now because we won a game would be very critical.”
His coach takes a similar view: “You with your stories,” he replied with a laugh when asked about the Löwen’s promotion ambitions. “The important thing was that we won today after a 0:2.” The coach is looking forward to an “awesome game” next Tuesday against Karlsruher SC in the Cup round of 16. “We can only win there. “
