A mad fan campaign and a dream goal: Essen are knocking on the door of the second division

Essen

Rot-Weiss Essen have opened the door to the 2. Bundesliga after winning the first leg of their promotion play-off against Greuther Fürth. The RWE fans also made headlines with a daring, attention-grabbing stunt.

A stunning free-kick has put Rot-Weiss Essen on the brink of a first promotion to the 2. Bundesliga in 20 years. The third-division side won the first-leg play-off 1-0 (0-0) at home, setting up a decisive trip to Greuther Fürth on Tuesday.

Torben Müsel (62') curled in a superb free-kick into the top corner, sending the Hafenstraße into raptures and piling pressure on Fürth, who now face a daunting task to avoid their first drop to the third tier since 1997.

Meanwhile, RWE supporters pulled off a remarkable stunt. Before the match, the Ultras displayed a goalpost—reportedly filched from MSV Duisburg—in their stand. The metal post was flanked by two banners reading "MSV: The dream is over" and "Your post in our boot".

That very post had been struck by Rasim Bulic, who completely unmarked, had missed in stoppage time on the final matchday against Viktoria Köln—a failure that allowed Essen to sneak into the relegation play-offs. 

A win would have secured promotion for MSV on the final matchday, but Bulic's miss left the Zebras with only a draw, while RWE netted a late winner against Ulm.

Rot-Weiss Essen is on the verge of returning to the second tier after a 14-year stint in the amateur ranks.

After years of struggle that included relegation, bankruptcy and disappointing results, Essen finally returned to the 3. Liga in 2022—their first taste of professional football in 14 years. The 1955 German champions had every reason to feel euphoric, despite stumbling at the finish line of the league campaign. Yet in a frantic opening spell, Fürth's Jannik Dehm thundered an early warning shot against the crossbar in the 16th minute.

It remained one of the few attempts on goal in a fiercely contested yet uneventful contest. Having secured 16th place in the second division only on the final matchday with a 3-0 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf, Fürth rarely threatened. Instead, Essen pressed forward, and although Kaito Mizuta narrowly failed to convert in the 58th minute, Müsel finally struck from a set piece to cap a late surge that underlined the hosts' promotion-fuelled ambition.