So close to promotion, the GDR legends fall at the last hurdle – Mateusz Kasprzyk reports
Former giants of GDR football Lokomotive Leipzig are now contemplating another campaign in the graveyard of East German clubs, the fourth-tier Regionalliga Nordost, after the agony of a play-off defeat in extra-time.
Reactivated in 2003, the one-time European regulars just needed to overcome little TSV Havelse to complete their long journey from Germany’s 11th tier to the third.
Having set attendance records at that level of football – 12,421 for a regular league fixture – Loksche were looking forward to 3. Liga clashes with the likes of Hansa Rostock and Energie Cottbus in 2025-26.
It wasn’t to be. Three extra-time goals from their modest opponents tipped the aggregate in favour of the Pelikans, who had topped the Regionalliga Nord in the regular season. Lokomotive had claimed the Regionalliga Nordost title ahead of Carl Zeiss Jena, Dynamo Berlin and Rot-Weiß Erfurt, all of whom they’ll now meet yet again in the new season.
In the run-up to the two-leg decider, Havelse had long been able to take their foot off the gas, finishing 14 points ahead of second-placed Kickers Emden. The biggest question mark remained whether the Pelikans actually wanted promotion at all.
Based in Garbsen, a small town near Hanover, TSV have a small fan base – rarely more than 1,000 spectators turn up to see their games, even with free tickets handed out at a local bakery – and their stadium doesn’t meet 3. Liga requirements. When Havelse spent one season at this level in 2021-22, they had to play home games at the gigantic Hannover 96 stadium, a very expensive misunderstanding.
For the first play-off match in Leipzig, more than 10,000 tickets had sold out within days, so sales points were turned into spontaneous meeting places for Loksche fans to drink beer and shelter from the ferocious storm that swept over Leipzig that afternoon.
The weather ruined the club’s plans to fill the ground early, so more than 10,000 people had to be let in through a few entrance gates.
The archaic Bruno-Plache-Stadion does not offer many opportunities to hide from the rain, but it does feel like a journey back to the golden ‘80s, when Loksche made a European final, losing out to Johan Cruyff’s Ajax. Raw standing terraces, tall floodlights and rusty fences complement a wooden main stand dating back to 1932.
The stadium could hold nearly 16,000, but due to its poor condition, some sections are closed limiting capacity to just over 11,000.
Loksche started the match like a real locomotive. This is the best period for the club this 21st century. The team from Leipzig first won the Regionalliga Nordost championship, then the Saxony Cup, played at ‘Bruno’ and decided on a penalty shoot-out against 3. Liga Erzgebirge Aue. Promotion to the same tier after 27 years would have been a hat-trick of successes within a couple of weeks.
The atmosphere was buzzing from the very beginning. Loksche ultras displayed a yellow-and-blue tifo carrying the message: Bereit für den traum unseres leben – ‘Ready for the dream of our lives’ – while hundreds of colourful streamers were released around the ground.
Lokomotive dominated on the pitch but couldn’t create any clear chances, the pressure of the moment beginning to tell. Havelse came not to lose and calmly waited for counterattacks.
Loksche fans shoutd their frustration at their Wessi opponents but to no avail. This first leg seemed to be heading for a 0-0 draw, but in the 89th minute, Havelse’s Marko Ilic hit a stunning strike. Right from the restart, Lokomotive went on the attack and equalised in stoppage time. 1-1.
For the second leg in the Hanover suburb of Garbsen, Lokomotive fans were only allocated 650 tickets – but more than 5,000 travelled west to take part in a demonstration to demand a reform of the Regionalliga, and direct promotion for the champions of each group to the 3. Liga without play-offs.
Under the current rules, of the five regional divisions, teams winning the Südwest and West groups go up automatically, as do the champions of Bavaria’s fourth tier. The other two, representatives of the Regionalliga Nord and Nordost, Havelse and Lokomotive Leipzig, must play off.
It’s a ruling that favours clubs from the former West –hence Loksche fans’ frustrations. Worse was to follow. A second yellow card for Leipzig midfielder Tobias Dombrowa reduced the visitors to ten men as the end of normal time approached.
Havelse duly hit three goals during the added half-hour, while Lokomotive piled up an equal number of red cards. The only score that mattered, though, was 3-0 on the day and 4-1 on aggregate. While Lokomotive lick their wounds, Havelse have to work out where they’re going to play next season.
