Match preview Kickers Offenbach

Matchday 2: Kickers Offenbach

After a hard-fought final phase, FSV Frankfurt earned a point in the league opener against TSV Steinbach Haiger last Saturday. Now head coach Tim Görner’s team have to play their first away game, which will definitely be a tough one. Bornheim’s second matchday will take place next Saturday at the stadium on Bieberer Berg, in the small Main derby at Offenbacher Kickers.

The Kickers from Offenbach have been playing continuously in the Southwest Regional Football League since 2013. Since then, OFC has fought year after year to return to professional soccer. In 2015, the Red & Whites became champions of the regional league, but were ultimately defeated in the promotion round against their upcoming DFB Cup opponents, 1.FC Magdeburg, in their own stadium. Offenbach are top of the Regionalliga Südwest table with a total of 668 points from 377 games.

Last season, the team of head coach Christian Neidhart, who joined Offenbach in July 2023, once again failed to live up to their role as favourites and finished the first half of the season in mid-table in tenth place. The second half of the season was also mixed, with Offenbach finishing the 2023/2024 regional league season in eleventh place after 34 league games, two places behind the Black & Blues. OFC took a point back to Bieberer Berg with a 1-1 draw against FSV on the Bornheimer Hang, while the Kickers won the return match in Offenbach against the Bornheimers 3-0. Despite all this, OFC won the Hesse Cup at the end of May in the Frankfurt PSD Bank Arena against Hesse league side Türk Gücü Friedberg 3:2 and will now face Magdeburg in the first round of the DFB Cup in mid-August.

A total of 14 players left the club during the summer break, while nine new players joined the Red & Whites. During pre-season preparations, OFC won a number of matches by the skin of their teeth, although Offenbach were beaten by second-division teams 1.FC Köln and 1.FC Kaiserslautern.

Kickers Offenbach vs. FSV Frankfurt

Saturday, August 03, 2024, kick-off 2 p.m.

Stadium at Bieberer Berg, Offenbach

Pre-season preparation:

Sat, 22.06.24 | VfB Oberndorf (Group League Frankfurt) vs. KICKERS OFFENBACH 0:11

Sun, 23.06.24 | FC Germania Bieber (KOL Offenbach) vs. KICKERS OFFENBACH 0:10

Sat, 29.06.24 | KICKERS OFFENBACH vs. TSV Schott Mainz (Oberliga Rheinland-Pflanz/Saar) 3:1

Sat, 06.07.24 | SC 1960 Hanau (Hessenliga) vs. KICKERS OFFENBACH 1:5

Fri, 12.07.24 | KICKERS OFFENBACH vs. Rot-Weiß Walldorf (Hessenliga) 7:0

Sat, 13.07.24 | 1.FC Köln (2nd Bundesliga) vs. KICKERS OFFENBACH 3:1

Sat, 20.07.24 | KICKERS OFFENBACH vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf (2.Bundesliga) 1:0

Sat, 20.07.24 | KICKERS OFFENBACH vs. 1.FC Kaiserslautern (2.Bundesliga) 1:3

New signings: Valdrin Mustafa (Jahn Regensburg, Ron Berlinski (Rot-Weiß Essen), Onur Ünlücifci (FSV Frankfurt), Boubacar Barry (FC-Astoria Walldorf), Daniel Dejanovic (Eintracht Frankfurt II), Stephan Mensah (Chemnitzer FC), Luca Horst (Kickers Offenbach II), Ouassim Karada (Kickers Offenbach U19), Matija Damjanovic (Kickers Offenbach U19)

Departures: Leon Müller (MSV Duisburg), Rafael Garcia (1. FC Düren), Benjamin Hadzic (Hessen Kassel), Marcel Jonetzko (SV Wilhelmshaven), Marcos Alvarez (TuS Bersenbrück), Björn Jopek (Eintracht Mahlsdorf), Maik Vetter (Türk Gücü Friedberg), Damjan Balic (FC Bayern Alzenau, loan), Kevin Lankford (unknown), Dominik Wanner (unknown), Christian Derflinger (unknown), Maximilian Engl (unknown), Julian Markvoort Beke (unknown), Roko Branko Mrvelj (Kickers Offenbach II