Ansbach's "undeserved" opening defeat: An encouragement and warning sign

Niklas Reutelhuber saw a lot of good things in the home opener. IMAGO/Zink

It was a setting reminiscent of one of the most glorious football evenings in Ansbach's club history. In the opening match of the Regionalliga Bayern (Bavarian Regional League), the 09ers faced SpVgg Bayreuth on Thursday evening. The Middle Franconian team, who had recently made "quantum leaps" in all areas, brought out the big guns for this premiere in front of 2,800 spectators. BFV President Christoph Kern acknowledged this in an interview with the association, lauding it with high praise for a "fantastic opening ceremony."

The last time there was such a dense crowd at the Xaver-Bertsch-Sportpark for Ansbach's season opener was at the first Regionalliga game after promotion in 2022. Shortly afterwards, the great FC Bayern Munich II was put in their place with a 2-0 win in front of 3,700 spectators.

A good omen, then? That was at least the hope of the Middle Franconian team, who had also had a turbulent summer with numerous key players leaving. After a rather bumpy preseason – including a 7-1 defeat against newly promoted Sonnenhof Großaspach from the southwest – it was all the more important for coach Niklas Reutelhuber's team to start the new season on a positive note.

There could have been only one deserving winner today. And that would have been us.

There were no points to be earned at the start of the new season – although the run of play certainly could have resulted in a different result than 1:2 . "There could have only been one deserved winner today, and that would have been us," said coach Reutelhuber after the final whistle. Visiting coach Lukas Kling agreed: He called it an "undeserved victory," but was naturally delighted with the three points.

Indeed, Ansbach, which started with only one new signing (Mirko Puscher), got off to a better start and took the lead with the first chance of the game in the 7th minute through Niklas Seefried. However, the team couldn't maintain this efficiency for the full 90 minutes.

Bayreuth, initially visibly unsettled, gradually found their way into the game and equalized in the 29th minute after a counterattack. After the break, the home side regained control, making their mark on the game and creating several top-class chances. But neither Kroiß—free in front of goal after a catastrophic Bayreuth build-up error—nor Oberseider, from a few meters out, could find the back of the net. And so, as often happens in football, Seidel used a free kick from the halfway line to land a lucky punch and seal Ansbach's unfortunate opening defeat.

We had six, seven, eight huge chances to score. We can't afford to lose this game.

"On the one hand, it's good to deliver such a performance in the first game of the season, because then you know you've worked well in preparation," Reutelhuber admitted, also expressing a certain satisfaction, but added a "but": "You have to be honest. We simply have to win the game. We can't find any excuses. We had six, seven, eight huge chances to score. We can't lose this game."

Reutelhuber was also somewhat surprised by the game's outcome: "I don't know if it was because we delivered a really good performance or Bayreuth delivered a modest one. But the difference was huge today."

Of course, this realization doesn't buy the Zero Niners anything. The good performance should serve as a boost – as proof that they can hold their own against even the biggest names. At the same time, the lack of efficiency should be seen as a warning sign. The next big game, SpVgg Unterhaching, awaits next week – and once again, the utilization of opportunities could prove to be the deciding factor. Reutelhuber is optimistic: "We'll shake things up and make sure we're as prepared as possible for Haching."