Three points from top two points from safety

A comfortable home win over 1974 European Cup Winner's Cup winners Magdeburg (2-0) was followed by a last minute victory away to Lubeck (2-1) which leaves Essen just three points behind automatic promotion. However the league is so tight that despite being so close to the top they are also only two points off position 11 (from where they will not automatically be in the new Bundesliga 3).

Close by Oberhausen is likely top be swamped with Rot Weiss fans on Sunday and hopefully I will be among them. They beat us 4-1 at home on the opening day of the Rot Weiss season and it will be nice to get revenge. From what I remember of that game we played fairly well and they had two chances and scored four goals.

With the move to Berlin impending the game against Düsseldorf on Saturday December 8th could be my last for a long while.

On a brighter note my football ringtones website has started to pick up again slightly after spending far too long in the doldrums. It's just a shame no-one buys ringtones any more.

Went to see Brian Auger earlier this week in Duisburg - though he is probably only known to people who love the hammond organ.

Essen's first away defeat of the season

Rot Weiss lost their first game of the season - away from home on Saturday losing 1-0 in a scrappy game against Verl. For pictures and stuff check out the link on the left hand side "excellent RWE site".

So away draws against Dusseldorf, Dortmund and Union Berlin were bettered on the road with victories at Bremen, Hamburg, Babelsburg and Wolfsburg optimism was high and more than half the supporters at Verl were Essen fans.

However, a goal midway through the second half ended that record and by all accounts it was a game no worth dwelling upon.

Not sure what the knife is about in the picture but some mother is short of something to cut the Sunday roast with now.

Got a decent response on the RWE forum about my wedding dilemma with some of the answers to sensible for my linking. Thanks to anyone who who contributed. It seems a well populated and well run forum - though a fight did break out halfway through the thread.

So the threat of not making it to the Bundesliga 3 remains. The main problem with not making it is that the promotion issue will see it very hard for relegated clubs to return.

Magdeburg next week at home who have achieved something Liverpool never did -they won the (now defunct) Cup Winners Cup doing so in 1974 beating AC Milan in the final 2-0. Liverpool famously lost to Dortmund in the 1966 Europapokal der Pokalsieger beaten after extra-time in a game played at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

Electric Essen held by Dynamo

To further strengthen the case for missing my brother's wedding, Rot Weiss Essen played their best match of the season on Saturday though could only manage a 1-1 draw against Dynamo Dresden.

Poor finishing ultimately cost them in a match that had almost everything - a missed penalty (Dynamo), a disallowed goal (Rot Weiss), a sending off (Dynamo) and bad refereeing. The crowd loved it and so did I. It is what football is about and I'm pretty hopeful for the rest of the season if the team can reach similar levels.

The day had started badly when the bottle opener I'd 'borrowed' off a friend a few weeks earlier was confiscated by the security guards on the way in. I tried to keep the incident quiet but the bloke holds it aloft and makes a scene about this very recognisable opener not being allowed in. I'd only brought it along to give it back to him as he was having a party that night but I'm sure he thought I'd nicked it off him.

The game would have been so different had the penalty gone in to make it 2-1. It seemed a little harsh and justice was done. Those with long memories will remember Ray Clemence saved a penalty against Dynamo Dresden in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1976 so Daniel Masuch's save provides a very tenuous Liverpool link.

Talking of German goalkeepers, there is a discussion going on about Jens Lehmann joining Man City. Don't really care whether he does but here is for a fantastic clip of him playing in goal for Schalke against Rot Weiss many years ago.

Tempted to go to the game against Verl next week but, although it is close, public transport issues could be a problem.

Rot Weiss or my brother's wedding?

"Rot Weiss oder die Hochzeit meines Bruders"

Essen's victory over Kaiserslautern in the German Cup has left me with a difficult decision to make.

With the next round of the cup taking place on the last weekend in January - should I go to the game or attend my brother's wedding back in England scheduled for January 29th?

I'll let you decide so please add your thoughts in the comment section. If we had been playing Schalke the decision would have been alot easier.

One point in my favour about staying for the game against Hamburger SV is that technically it is not his wedding. He married last week in California or somewhere and this day at Blackpool is just a place for him to celebrate with family and friends. 1-0.

The celebration takes place in Blackpool. Not the most glamorous of locations and I always thought the place smelt of chips (Pommes). 2-0.

He's my brother. 2-1

I don't really like weddings. I usually get put on a boring table and end up discussing insurance while the evening function is normally a banal affair accompanied by dreadful cheesy disco music. 3-1

My brother will no doubt do his 'breakdance' routine. 5-1.