Hansa Rostock II made a strong start to their first-ever season as a professional club, sitting safely in 3. Liga mid-table heading into the winter break. But manager Ruprecht Prusseit was acutely aware that a slip in form could quickly drag them into danger.
Having signed his first ‘professional’ contract this season, Prusseit took another vital step on his path to the top of German football by completing his Continental C Licence. As a result, his profile, reputation and coaching attributes had seen a marked improvement. Furthermore, the Rostock II board was so delighted with his contributions that they agreed to send him on his Continental B Licence coach a month later.
Looking To Avoid A Relegation Battle
Rostock II resumed their 3. Liga campaign with a tricky trip to still undefeated Holstein Kiel and offered no shocks with a 2-0 defeat. That was followed by a big OstDeutscher clash as they entertained fellow mid-table side Zwickau, which was a dreadful game with 10 shots in total and one on target and deserved the 0-0 it got. But a 3-2 loss at Hertha II saw Rostock II drop to 14th and just four points above the drop zone.
A worrying winless streak extended with a 0-0 at home to Osnabrück, a 2-0 defeat at 1860 München and a 1-1 draw with Stuttgart II. But a first-half brace by top scorer Alexander Schumacher saw them finally get back to winning ways 2-1 at bottom side Schweinfurt.
The struggles continued as they lost at home to Frankfurt II but gained a credible 0-0 at Hoffenheim II. Then a huge victory at 10th-place Victoria Köln thanks to goals from Schumacher and midfielder Fritz Fuchs moved them eight points clear of danger with eight games remaining.
Prusseit’s side virtually confirmed survival as the brilliant Schumacher bagged a four-goal haul to down relegation-threatened Mainz II 4-2. That moved them to the 40-point mark and nine points clear of the relegation zone.
3. Liga Safety Confirmed
Rostock II were already more or less confirmed to retain their place in 3. Liga, but they made sure of it as a Karl-Heinz Fogel penalty edged a 1-0 win over 15th-place Duisburg. Prusseit’s young team impressed despite losing 2-1 at Bayern II then lost 2-0 at Unterhaching, but confirmed survival mathematically with three games remaining.
They celebrated that survival by going to 3rd-place Aalen and winning 3-2 with goals from Schumacher, Fuchs and full-back John-Patrick Strauß. And the season was rounded off with a 0-0 draw against Jena then a solid 1-0 defeat at Dortmund II.
That wrapped up an impressive 13th-place finish, 12 points clear of relegation. And they remained a solid outfit, only scoring 36 but also conceding a respectable 47.
Another Season Of Overachievement
Having been widely expected to return straight to the fourth tier, Prusseit led his Rostock II side to relatively comfortable survival. The team’s star man was undoubtedly Schumacher, who scored 20 goals in 35 games taking him to 48 in 67 in two seasons under Prusseit.
The next top scorer was Fogel with just three then Fuchs with two and 10 other players scored one each. Horst Nusshall led the assists chart with just four then Strauß with three, but nine players got two each. But Fogel was arguably their most valuable player, topping the average rating with 6.96 in 32 games.
Prusseit’s development continued as he bagged his Continental B Licence in April, which he hoped would set him up for the next role on his OstDeutsch Sieg adventure as and when an appropriate opportunity presented itself.
Elsewhere in Germany, Bayern retained their iron grip on the Bundesliga title with a ridiculous 17th in a row. Hertha finished 2nd with Leipzig down in 5th and Union climbed to 13th. Prusseit’s parent club Hansa Rostock won 2. Bundesliga but two OstDeutsch sides Energie Cottbus and Jena were relegated to 3. Liga. Dynamo Dresden reached the Regionalliga playoff but lost 2-1 to Augsburg II.
Could Prusseit further build Rostock II? Or was it time to move on for the manager? Join us on Friday to find out!
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