Ruprecht Prusseit’s second role in football management had been packed with entertainment as his 1. FC Lok Stendal 21 games saw 81 goals. That resulted in a familiar position, with Stendal sitting four points above the relegation zone with 15 games remaining.
Better results had come as Prusseit switched to a more solid-looking 4-2-3-1 having initially gone with a 4-3-3 – basically caving in to the AI’s love of 6-man defences. But he’d later push Sumaila Carvalho back into a central midfield position for even further solidity.
Typically, the club was now beginning to lose money, partly because there’s no prize money at this level of football, which makes it effectively impossible to compete.
Tricky League Resumption
2026 began with a difficult set of fixtures, starting by hosting league favorites Magdeburg II and unsurprisingly losing 3-0. That took Stendal to five games without a win, which unsurprisingly had the fans very unfairly on Prusseit’s back for “negative tactics.” As if they expect him to go out and attack teams they “face the impossible” against. And it didn’t get better as they travelled to another East German side and lost 2-0 at 3rd-place Wismut Gera.
Another top-half side followed as they welcomed Bautzen to town and gave up an amazing 12 shots in the first 20 minutes! The visitors eventually made one count but Stendal held on to stay 1-0 down at half-time. Prusseit decided to go for it in the second half and they eventually stemmed the tide, grew into the game, and got their reward as young midfielder Alija Grubesic curled home a beauty from 25 yards.
A massive game followed as Stendal visited 17th-place Merseburg. They again started terribly, giving up 10 shots before going behind on 34 minutes. But an own goal gifted them a route back into the game before a special moment saw 16-year-old striker Malte Beste score his first senior goal off the bench to nick a 2-1 win in the 93rd minute. That vital goal, which made Beste the youngest goalscorer in Stendal history aged 16 years and 86 days, restored his side’s four-point gap to the drop zone.
They looked to be capitalising on the momentum as striker Zakaria Asante gave them the lead after 14 minutes at home to 7th-place Halle. But their shaky defence predictably threw away that advantage to lose 2-1. And they lost 2-1 again at Meuselwitz, which took their opponents top of the league and saw Stendal just one point outside the relegation zone. Another poor start saw them fall behind at home to Grimma, but tactical tweaks saw them actually dominate a top-half side for the first time and Asante nicked them a much-deserved point.
Any specks of optimism were forgotten as they got thumped 4-0 at 10th-place Sandersdorf, but they pulled off arguably their best result yet as a rare resolute defensive effort earned a 0-0 at home to 2nd-place Oberlausitz.
Another Tight Relegation Battle
Stendal came into the final six games of the season with a two-point gap between them and 17th-place Martinroda, who had a game in hand, and a three point gap to 18th-place Martinroda.
The run-in began at overperforming Hohenstein and started well as Asante opened the scoring after 18 minutes. They let the hosts back into it just before half-time but Asante restored the lead five minutes after the break. But the dodgy defence predictably allowed the hosts to equalise eight minutes later, yet again thanks to their dreadful left-back Kevin Keller’s inability to mark his winger, and Prusseit feared the worst. However, they held on for a vital point.
That was followed by a massive game as Stendal hosted Martinroda. They started well as Asante took advantage of a poor goalkeeper clearance and teed up winger Tshelo Gaolaolwe for his first goal in months. But they predictably conceded to Martinroda’s real attack just before the break then offered nothing after half-time and the sides played out a tame 1-1. The same result followed as Gaolaolwe scored again after 15 minutes at Zorbau, who scored a deserved 75th-minute equaliser.
However, Martinroada managed to beat Plauen to climb out of the relegation zone on goal difference ahead of both Stendal and Auerbach. But Martinroda, Auerbach and Merselburg all had a game in hand on Stendal.
The final three games saw Stendal face two absolutely must-win matches. Firstly, they welcomed Auerbach and started superbly as Grubesic rifled a 25-yarder into the top corner. And it got better 10 minutes later as the Auerbach keeper kicked the ball straight to Asante and he did brilliantly to round two defenders and curled the ball into the bottom corner. Auerbach got back into it early in the second half but Gaolaolwe killed the game off 10 minutes later.
Next up Stendal visited bottom side Rudolstadt who had just 17 points. They started the game on top but couldn’t take their chances in the first half. But Asante eventually did as the keeper parried winger Adrian Horner’s header straight to him. However, the hosts came back into it and Stendal predictably conceded a 25-yard screamer to draw 1-1.
That left Stendal four points clear of relegation a week before the three teams below them played their games in hand. Auerbach drew 1-1 at Dresdner and Martinroda drew 0-0 at Eilenburg, which meant Stendal were safe bar a goal difference swing of 12 on the final day.
Stendal had a local rival clash against Plauen while Auerbach welcomed Nordhausen and Martinroda hosted Magdeburg II. But Stendal put in a great defensive performance to see off Stendal’s 28 shots before Asante nicked an injury-time winner. And a new record crowd witnessed that victory as 830 people turned up to see Prusseit’s survive, smashing the previous record of 740.
That saw Stendal defy the odds to secure survival in 15th place, six points clear of relegated Auerbach. They scored 51 and conceded 67, while they tied the league record with 16 draws.
Reflecting On A Successful Campaign
Having been massively tipped for relegation, Prusseit certainly believed a 15th-place finish was a significant success. He’d seen signs of positivity from his Stendal side, especially Asante, who scored eight in his last 11 games to finish the campaign with a club-high 14 goals and was the only player with above a 7.00 average rating. As a result, he won the fans’ player and young player of the year.
Gaolaolwe also impressed as he finished the season with 10 goals and a club-high 10 assists. Midfielder Carvalho also did well, scoring 10 goals, but Prusseit was a little disappointed with the lack of contribution from supposed star player Horner, who only scored three and got five assists but did get the goal of the season.
Prusseit’s contract was up at the end of the season, so he was in two minds about whether to accept Stendal’s contract offer or explore new options. So he gave himself a little time over the summer to assess his options and see if his efforts this season had increased his stock with other East German sides.
Bayern Munich retained their stranglehold on Bundesliga, winning their 14th successive title but only by four points from the increasingly impressive RB Leipzig. While Union Berlin flirted with relegation but finished 14th, two points above the drop zone. Down a league, two East German sides dropped out of 2. Bundesliga as Dynamo Dresden and FSV Zwickau were relegated. But one replaced them as Energie Cottbus were promoted from 3. Liga.
Would Prusseit stay in Stendal for a second season? Or could he secure a job higher up the German ladder? Join us on Friday to find out!
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