But on this particular Sunday, 29 October, the Werkself were brimming with confidence as they looked to hold on to top spot. The visitors from Westphalia went in hard and they conceded a penalty on 13 minutes, which Heinz Höher hit against the post. But Werner Röhrig follows up to make it 1-0. Bayer 04 defender Günther Haarmann commits a retaliatory foul three minutes later and is sent off. Hans Zimmermann replaces Haarmann in the defence. Horst-Emscher are slightly on top against ten Bayer 04 players up to half-time.
In the second half, Heinz Höher doubles the lead on the hour mark and the ‘Hussars’ fall apart in spite of having the extra man. Höher scores another four goals, including three penalties, Hans-Otto Peters nets two. The 8-0 victory is the biggest win for a Bayer 04 team in the second Oberliga West and definitely the biggest win with ten players.
Emil 'Bubi' Becks was born in Essen on 12 March 1925. As a teenager he played for Union Frintrop. He moved on from Adler Frintrop to the senior team at Rot-Weiß Oberhausen where he scored ten goals in 19 games in his first year in the First Oberliga West. As a skilful centre forward, he brought his teammates into play and was always dangerous in the penalty area. With increasing age he played further and further back with his last games in defensive midfield.
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It is 27 March 1955. Bayer 04 are set to play relegation-threatened Borussia Mönchengladbach at the Stadion Am Stadtpark. In the Oberliga West in the 1954/55 season, Rot-Weiß Essen are in top spot ahead of the club from Herne, SV Sodingen. The Werkself are having a good season and need every point after the defeat in Münster a week before to get back to second place, which would qualify the club for the games for the German Championship title.
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In this video you can watch impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 in the month of March. It is not always about the beauty of the goals but also about remembering special games and players.
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Ahead of matchday 25 in the 1999/2000 season, the Werkself are in second place in the Bundesliga two points behind reigning champions Bayern Munich. The champions have been top of the table since matchday 10 and the rest of the league are trying to stay in touch with Bayern. From matchday 24, an exciting race develops between Bayer 04 and FC Bayern that lasts to the end of the season.
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SV Baesweiler are the visitors to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on 2 March 1975. With a 2-1 win in front of a crowd of 1,600 the Werkself get revenge for the defeat in the reverse fixture but the best thing about this game were not just two points. Leverkusen failed to really impress against battling visitors. It looked very good after an early goal from Matthias Hemmersbach on eight minutes but the Werkself again went too far with individual actions. Bayer 04 were on top in the first half. And Peter Surbach made it 2-0 with a header at the start of the second 45 but suddenly everything fell apart. Baesweiler pulled a goal back on the hour mark and besieged the goal brilliantly minded by Hubert Makel. In the end it was down to him that the game ended with a 2-1 win.
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