VfR Neumünster fights its way to the final of the Rewe Cup – a football thriller!

VfR Neumünster fights its way to the final of the Rewe Cup – a football thriller!

Football fans in Neumünster can rejoice! VfR Neumünster impressively catapulted itself into the final of the Eichholzer SV Rewe Cup. After a thrilling semi-final against TSV Pansdorf, which ended 6:3 (3:3), they face an exciting challenge. Characterized by ups and downs, as is often the case in football, the Neumünster team made the most of an initial 3-1 deficit and proved once again that they never give up. The semi-final took place in front of 60 spectators on Lübeck's Guerickestrasse, who loudly followed the exciting encounter.

The game didn't exactly start promisingly for the Neumünster team. Moritz Manthe gave Pansdorf the lead after just 50 seconds. But coach Danny Cornelius' team shook itself and equalized through Jordan Marquardt in the 12th minute. However, Pansdorf continued to apply pressure and increased the score to 3-1 through Etienne Grimm (16th minute) and Lennart Gönnemann (26th minute). But Neumünster didn't let themselves be discouraged and fought their way back into the game. Kastriot Alija scored two quick goals in the 34th and 36th minutes to level the score at 3-3.

A decisive change

During the half-time break, Cornelius was dissatisfied with his players' performance and criticized their careless attitude. But it was a courageous triple substitution in the 56th minute that brought a breath of fresh air into the game. VfR took the lead in the 61st minute with a penalty from Ilir Serifi and did not allow any further goals from Pansdorf in the second half. After further goals from David Teixeira Mateus (77th minute) and Serifi (80th minute), the 6:3 victory was certain.

“We took the game seriously and showed what we were capable of,” Cornelius later stated. However, he attributed the initial weaknesses to an overly casual attitude and intensive training the day before. One thing is certain: On July 5th at 5:30 p.m., VfR will face the winner of the second semi-final between Eichholzer SV and Ratzeburger SV in the final. The anticipation is palpable and the expectations are high.

On to the new season

The good news is no coincidence. VfR Neumünster started preparing for the 2025/2026 season in the league on June 23rd. 18 players were present at the first training session, including some new arrivals such as Jan Lippegaus (Viktoria Berlin) and Sven Freitag (VfB Lübeck II). Some young talents, such as Bo Blocker, Yasin Diler and Luis Schmidt, also took part. Coach Cornelius was pleased with the training impressions, even if some top performers such as Moshood “Ola” Adesanya were unable to take part due to injuries or other commitments.

VfR has already prepared for a few test matches, including the first against SV Hamberge on June 28th. Further games against, among others, TSV Pansdorf and SV Drochtersen/Assel II are planned in the coming weeks. The fans can be excited to see how the team will develop and how the new additions will integrate into the team. But now we have to win the final and bring the Rewe Cup to Neumünster! Information about the Oberliga and the other schedules can be found here.