VfB Hilden starts strong: friendly win against Solingen-Wald 1-0!

VfB Hilden starts strong: friendly win against Solingen-Wald 1-0!

Last Saturday, July 13, 2025, VfB Hilden and 1. Spvg Solingen-Wald faced each other in a test match. With a narrow 1-0 win, the Hilden team won the game and set a first exclamation mark in the preparation for the season. The test served to prepare both teams for the new challenges, as VfB Hilden is starting the season as a top division team, while Solingen-Wald is contesting the season as a promoted team in the state league. Despite missing a few key players, both teams shone with committed performances and sent the numerous fans home satisfied.

The game began under the watch of referee Mohamed Wahbi, who quickly established the carmes of the game. These caused some dissatisfaction, especially in the Solingen camp, who scored a goal in the first half, but it was disallowed due to an irregularity. Hilden, on the other hand, was unable to take advantage of the few chances that resulted from the course of the game, but still remained focused.

Active second half

After the half-time break, VfB Hilden were much more active and took control. Particularly noteworthy was a powerful shot from Shadrak Dombe in the 60th minute, but it didn't find its way into the goal. Solingen's frustration grew when Hilden was awarded a penalty in the 84th minute, which they finally converted. The game was decided and the first win of the pre-season was perfect.

“I am very satisfied with my team’s performance,” explained Hilden’s coach Tim Schneider after the final whistle. His colleague from Solingen, Daniele Varveri, was proud of his team's performance despite the defeat. He particularly praised new signing Fabio di Gaetano, who put in a solid performance in central midfield and will hopefully continue to strengthen the team spirit.

The test match weekend at a glance

However, Hilden was not the only team from Solingen that was active on the test match weekend. A total of six teams from the region competed. DV Solingen lost an exciting duel against TSG Sprockhövel 1:2 after they conceded a penalty in the second half. The Wald 03 sports association was also able to flex its muscles, but their enthusiasm fizzled out and the match also ended with a narrow 0-1 loss against Hilden. Sporting director Peter Resvanis praised the first 25 minutes, in which the team set strong accents before the game ended badly towards the end.

TS Solingen lost 2:9 in another test match against Sportfreunde Baumberg and the team around coach Yorik Heiber clearly had some catching up to do. SV Solingen, on the other hand, was able to report positive things, seeing their match against SG Benrath-Hassels draw 0-0 and can therefore go into the upcoming games optimistically.

Test matches are a valuable opportunity for all teams to prepare for the new season. There are many exciting encounters on the program in the coming days and weeks. In particular, all eyes are on the confrontation between Fortuna Cologne and 1. FC Cologne on July 18th, which is another highlight for Cologne football fans. [Bundesliga.com] offers a detailed overview of all test matches and their results.

Overall, the weekend offered a colorful mix of test games that increased anticipation for the new season and at the same time put the teams to the test to see whether they had prepared well.