Suddenly, the 1860 goalscorer pauses: “I was already shedding tears this morning.”

Rot-Weiss Essen and 1860 Munich drew 1-1 in their opening match of the 3. Liga on Friday. In focus: the Lions' two prominent new signings. Florian Niederlechner celebrated a successful debut with his goal to make it 1-1. The other, Kevin Volland, impressed with his hard work and sportsmanship, avoiding a potential second yellow card for Essen's Tobias Kraulich. Coach Koschinat praised Volland's performance as outstanding. Both teams are in contention for promotion.

Florian Niederlechner dedicated his goal to the grieving goalkeeper Sven Ulreich. Niederlechner and the Ulreich family are close friends. The loss of Ulreich's son deeply affected him. Despite his Lions' passion, he was motivated to score for the Ulreichs. In a post-match interview, he expressed his grief and expressed his joy at the goal.