The risk of confusion was obvious on this Tuesday evening in Lübeck. 800 supporters of TSV 1860 Munich originally came with the intention of watching a third division football game. So a sport that – as far as we know – includes shots on goal, parades and possibly even goals. In the stands at the VfB Lübeck stadium, it must have felt as if the address had been mistaken. What the actors offered on the chilly lawn was more reminiscent of a diplomatic meeting. Everything looked like the most peaceful of all results: a 0-0. And then this game delivered three huge hits at the end.
In the 80th minute, a 19-year-old, who has been playing in youth teams for the Sixties since 2013, caught people’s attention for the first time – and was now celebrated as a goalscorer for the first time in his second third division game for the professional team. The American Mansour Ouro-Tagba headed a well-timed cross from Manfred Starke, who had also been substituted five minutes earlier, into the goal – and so the Lions looked like the sure winners. But then, five minutes later, the hosts struck back when midfielder Mirko Boland suddenly rushed up and headed the ball over the line from close range. However, there was no cheering in Lübeck.
It quickly became clear to everyone that Boland had unfortunately hit his head against the right post when he scored his goal – a final blow that no one needed. Boland lay almost motionless in the goal net, which is why doctors ran onto the pitch. “Mirko Boland, Mirko Boland” echoed from the stands before the player moved again. He received a turban – and then he stood again before he was replaced to applause. That was the painful finale of an evening that was otherwise anything but entertaining.
After all, political matters have taken a back seat at TSV 1860 Munich for a few weeks now. That should make work a little more pleasant for the recently hired coach Argirios Giannikis than it was for his predecessor Maurizio Jacobacci. At the weekend at the home game against Duisburg in the stadium on Grünwalder Straße, the new coach had already left the first indications of the realignment in the style of play: appearing quicker in front of the opponent’s goal and creating chances. The Lions implemented this not-so-complicated-sounding strategy by winning 4-1. Running again, right?
Defender Niklas Lang was loaned out until the end of the season
Well, in the far north it was probably mostly the spectators’ noses that were running; The idea of warming up to the game had been extremely optimistic. The Lions’ supporters coped by setting off pyrotechnics at the beginning of the second half. As if they wanted to reinforce their singing pieces – such as “Let’s go, sixty, score a goal” – visually and olfactorily. Maybe that was just asking too much that evening. Perhaps the battle hunters should have written less ambitious verses, such as: “Let’s go, sixty, shoot towards the goal.”
Mansour Ouro-Tagba didn’t shoot, but he headed it into the goal. “It felt great, I was grateful for the opportunity,” he explained at the Magenta Sport microphone. Whether he sees himself ready for further appearances in the professional team? “I’m open to more,” he said, before his coach explained that the 19-year-old striker obviously has legitimate hopes. “They worked well with Mansour,” explained Giannikis. “We work with him and also have the courage to put him in such situations.” He only partially agreed with his team’s game. “Although it was hectic, we rarely lost order,” he said, but by “losing a lot of the ball we made the opponent a little bit stronger.” This needs to be addressed at the home game on Sunday (4:30 p.m.). The goal against Sandhausen in the Grünwalder Stadium was to “step up”.
The 43-year-old Giannikis had decided not to change the starting lineup. He trusted the team from the game against Duisburg, they should do the trick. Defender Niklas Lang is no longer available to him for the time being; he was loaned out to SC Freiburg II until the end of the season “to gain match practice,” as the TSV announced on Tuesday. In the first leg in Munich-Giesing at the beginning of the season, the Lübeck team had stolen three flattering points with a 2-1 win, but dark clouds soon began to gather on the North Sea over coach Lukas Pfeiffer, who had led the team into this third league. Because the team plunged even deeper into the relegation battle than TSV 1860, Pfeiffer’s days were numbered. The new coach Florian Schnorrenberg has been looking after the Lübeck team for a few weeks.
The fact that the game was almost unsightly was not due to the smoke created by the pyrotechnics of both fan camps. Both teams certainly cannot be denied their commitment on the football field, but they almost always neutralized each other before the edge of the penalty area at the latest – until Mansour Ouro-Tagba and Mirko Boland put an end to it.