Essingen vs Ansbach

The match was played at a neutral venue in Elchingen and needed time to spark into life. "It was a sluggish start. Maybe both teams had heavy legs," Essingen coach Simon Köpf told Schwäbische.de after the game.

Essingen broke the deadlock in the 26th minute. David Braig set up Jannik Pfänder, who turned and fired home from inside the box to make it 1-0. The Oberliga side grew in confidence as the half wore on, and Braig turned from provider to scorer in the 39th minute, finishing after a pass from Erman Kilic to make it 2-0 at the break.

Essingen struck again just three minutes after the restart. Manuel Abele's shot was parried by the Ansbach goalkeeper, and Niklas Groiß followed up to tap into the empty net for 3-0 in the 49th minute.

Ansbach improved as the second half progressed and created several chances, but Essingen goalkeeper Jerome Weisheit made a string of saves — including one outstanding stop noted by Köpf — to preserve the clean sheet. The final word belonged to young substitute Daniel Dambacher, who capped a fine solo run with a composed finish in the 90th minute to make it 4-0.

Essingen's second goal, just six minutes before half-time, was decisive. Ansbach had weathered the early pressure after Pfänder's opener, but Braig's strike so close to the interval meant the Regionalliga side went into the dressing room two down, and the momentum carried straight into the second half. When Groiß made it 3-0 in the 49th minute, the game was effectively over.

• David Braig (Essingen): A goal and an assist. Braig created the opener for Pfänder and scored the crucial second himself, pulling the strings in Essingen's final third.
• Jannik Pfänder (Essingen): Opened the scoring with a well-taken turn and shot from inside the box, setting the tone for the afternoon.
• Jerome Weisheit (Essingen): The goalkeeper kept Ansbach at bay during their strongest spell midway through the second half, with Köpf singling out one save as "outstanding."
• Daniel Dambacher (Essingen): The young substitute produced the moment of the match with a fine solo run and finish for the fourth goal. "That will do him good," said Köpf. "It was a great final point to a successful test."

Player of the match: David Braig.

The match page shows a 4-0 final scoreline and 2-0 at half-time, but the underlying game was more nuanced than the score suggests. After a slow start from both sides, Essingen dominated the first half from roughly the 25th minute onwards, creating two goals and several further chances. The third goal within three minutes of the restart effectively killed the contest. Ansbach had their best spell from around the 60th minute onward, forcing multiple saves from Weisheit, but could not find the net. Essingen's clinical finishing — three goals from open play and one from a rebound — contrasts with Ansbach's failure to convert their second-half pressure. The 4-0 margin overstates Essingen's dominance over 90 minutes but accurately reflects their ruthlessness in the decisive moments.

Essingen's win is a notable scalp for an Oberliga side against a team from the division above. The result continues a productive pre-season for Köpf's side, who drew 0-0 with Regionalliga side FC Memmingen on 4 July before this emphatic victory. Their next friendly is on 15 July at Bezirksliga side DJK Schwabsberg-Buch (18:30 local), followed by a double-header on 18 July against SV Waldhausen (10:30) and Regionalliga-promoted VfR Aalen (14:30).

For Ansbach, the 4-0 defeat is a sharp comedown after a promising start to pre-season. The Nullneuner had won their first two friendlies 4-0 (against TSV Kornburg on 27 June and FSV Hollenbach on 4 July) but then lost 5-1 at home to 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Nürnberg on 11 July — just 24 hours before this match. Playing two friendlies on consecutive days, one against a professional side and one against a motivated Oberliga opponent, may have taken a physical toll. Ansbach's next pre-season fixture has not been confirmed at the time of writing.

Essingen produced a professional, disciplined performance that exposed a tired and rotated Ansbach side playing their second game in 24 hours. The Oberliga outfit were sharper in both boxes and fully deserved the win. For Ansbach, this is a reminder that pre-season workloads can catch up quickly — and that the gap between the fourth and fifth tiers in German football is not always as wide as the league structure suggests.

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Sources: Schwäbische.de match report (13 July 2026), FuPa.net match report (13 July 2026), 1. FC Nürnberg official site (11 July 2026), Betmana.co.uk match page.