Life in tier four was off to a flying start for Ruprecht Prusseit with his free-scoring Hansa Rostock II side sitting top of Regionalliga Nordost at the halfway point of the campaign.
Prusseit was proving any doubters wrong, in particular the powers that be at his hometown club Dynamo Dresden, who had refused to entertain his applications three times and now trailed him in the league. However, there was plenty of hard work ahead if he wanted to secure the first piece of silverware on his OstDeutscher Sieg adventure.
Crunch OstDeutsch Clash
The second half of the season began with a trip to Chemie Leipzig and two goals either side of half-time by 18-year-old striker Alexander Schumacher nicked a 2-1 victory. That also took them to a new club-record nine successive victories.
But next up was a huge game against another fellow OstDeutscher Sieg compatriot as Rostock II hosted the only team to have beaten them so far, Dynamo Dresden. Prusseit’s side performed well, especially defensively, only to be denied by a goal from a corner in injury time, which ended a 15-game unbeaten streak. The game also saw Rostock II break their attendance record as 2,410 people flocked to the game, smashing the previous record of 1,314.
They recovered well to defeat Reinickendorf 3-0 led by a Schumacher brace, which took Rostock into a 49-day winter break in 2nd place, three points behind Dynamo.
Taking The Fight To Dynamo
Prusseit celebrated passing his National A Licence over the winter break. And his Rostock II gave him more to celebrate as they returned at home to Meuselwitz, dominated them by 20 shots to six and a second-half strike by winger Kevin Stark earned a 1-0 win. In that game, midfielder Nico Geppert became the youngest-ever Rostock II player aged 16 years and 35 days. Striker Chilohem Onuoha earned another 1-0 win at Bischofswerda and things were looking good.
However, the curse of being a B team struck as Prusseit’s best winger Stark was sold to Hannover then goalkeeper Fabien Eutringer was loaned to FSV Frankfurt. Prusseit took the unusual step of moving his defensive midfielder Horst Nusshall forward to replace Stark, with Damien Roßbach coming into the holding role.
The 1-0 victories continued as an Andreas Fehling penalty defeated 14th-place Rathenow, winger Jan-Lucas Franke downed Babelsberg and centre-back Tim Hannak headed the only goal at home to Hallescher after two minutes. And that set a new club record of six consecutive games without conceding.
The finally let a goal in at Lokomotive Leipzig but their attackers also found their shooting boots as Schumacher and Onuoha both scored braces in a 5-1 victory. Dynamo had also been winning relentlessly but eventually dropped points with a 0-0 at Plauen, which moved Rostock II four points back with a game in hand.
The excellent form continued as Schumacher scored both at home to Viktoria 1889, in which they also hit the woodwork four times, then Schumacher and Onuoha sealed the same result at Prauen.
Dynamo Hand Rostock A Lifeline
Dresden had only dropped points in three games and led the way by four points having played a game more. But they imploded in a 5-2 home defeat against rivals Chemnitzer, which suddenly shifted the momentum in Rostock II’s favour. And, bizarrely, their game in hand would be played one week after Dynamo’s final game of the season!
Game 1 – Berliner AK (8th, away): Prusseit’s side capitalised on that advantage as first-half goals by 17-year-old midfielder Fritz Fuchs and Schumacher downed Berliner AK 2-0. That moved them one point behind Dynamo with a game in hand.
Game 2 – Berlin FC Dynamo (12th, away): Relegation-threatened BFC were up next and a Fehling penalty gave them a first-half lead. Just before the hour mark, a brilliant run and finish by Schumacher strike saw him equal the Regionalliga Nordost goalscoring record and sealed another 2-0 win. The day before, Dynamo won 3-0 at TeBe Berlin.
Game 3 – Chemnitzer (3rd, home): The biggest test in the run-in was at home to another OstDeutsch side Chemnitzer. But the strikeforce of Schumacher and Onuoha had too much for them as both scored twice in a dominant 4-0 victory. The next day, Dynamo hosted Rot-Weiß Erfurt and dropped more points as Erfurt scored a 96th-minute equaliser to nick a 2-2 draw, which kept Rostock II top of the league by a point.
Game 4 – Tennis Borussia Berlin (12th, away): A win at home to TeBe Belin would seal the title with a game remaining, given Dynamo played their final game at the same time. However, Prusseit’s time suffered stage fright and lost 1-0 to a very dubious first-half penalty. Elsewhere, Dynamo were winning 1-0 to move two points clear but conceded a 91st-minute equaliser at Chemie Leipzig. That kept Rostock top on goal difference going into their game in hand.
Game 5 – Rot-Weiß Erfurt (5th, home): That meant Rostock would be Champions as long as they didn’t lose 6-0 at home to Erfurt. This time they started much better as Schumacher tucked home a low cross at the near post then Hannak fired home from 20 yards. Erfurt got one back with their first attack but Fuchs curled home a delicious free-kick to remove any doubt.
Hansa Rostock II won Regionalliga Nordost and Rupecht Prusseit had his first piece of silverware!!
Rostock II won the title by three points, only drawing once and losing three times all season. They also scored a league-high 77 goals and conceded the fewest with just 17. Schumacher topped the goalscoring chart with a new league record 28 followed by Onuoah on 21. While Stark has the most assists with 12 and the second-highest average rating of 7.68.
Unexpected Playoff Phase
Having secured the Nordost title, Prusseit’s side now progressed into the Regionalliga Promotion Stage. They now faced a tricky two-legged clash with professional side Hannover II, who dominated Regionalliga Nord.
The home leg was up first and centre-back Justin Niehoff scored his first career goal with a towering back post head before Hannover equalised eight minutes later. But Rostock II had the best of the game, had 21 shots to seven and made one count as Onuoha raced in behind the defence and chipped the keeper to seal a 2-1 victory. The game again broke the club’s record attendance as 2,993 people flocked to Volksstadion.
Hannover scored early in the first half from a near-post corner, but a half-time telling-off saw Rostock II dominate the second half. They pulled level nine minutes after the break as Franke hit a screamer from the edge of the box. Ten minutes later, the winger created a second as his low cross allowed Schumacher to score from close range. Prusseit took a more cautious approach and his side eased to a famous 4-2 aggregate win.
Hansa Rostock were Promoted to 3. Liga!!
Exciting Times At Rostock II
As far as Prusseit could tell, Rostock II were heading into 3. Liga for the first time in their history. Prusseit was delighted to have won his first-ever piece of silverware six years into his career, and his board responded by instantly putting plans in place to turn professional.
Rostock II’s star man this Schumacher, who scored 29 goals in 34 games with a 7.50 average rating. He was pushed close by Onuoha’s 22 goals and 7.45 average rating, but no other player scored more than five. Winger Franke topped the assists chart with 10 followed by right-winger Matthiäs Kohler’s seven, while centre-back Hannak got an impressive 7.44 average rating.
Prusseit now had a tricky decision to make. On the one hand, he was excited about the opportunity to manage in the German third tier and at a professional level for the first time. However, the Rostock II squad was nowhere good enough to play in 3. Liga and he wasn’t able to strengthen it.
Up in Bundesliga, Bayern trailed Dortmund by seven points going into the winter break. But they were top by mid-February and eventually won their 16th successive title by 17 points from Leipzig as Dortmund slipped to third. Union Berlin again flirted with relegation, going into the relegation playoff and defeating the Hansa Rostock first team. Another OstDeutsche side Energie Cottbus was relegated from 2. Bundesliga and another Erzgebirge Aue were relegated from 3. Liga. Further down the leagues, there was sad news as Prusseit’s first club Dessau finished bottom of Verbandsliga Saxonia-Anhalt into German non-league.
Would Ruprecht Prusseit stick with Hansa Rostock II in 3. Liga? Or would another East German side come in for him in the summer? Join us on Friday to find out!
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