The match starts quietly and fairly. Bayer 04 press for the lead but August Schiefer, Manfred Höher and Theo Kirchberg miss clear-cut opportunities. Eickel take the lead from a counter-attack and the Werkself fail to equalise from the penalty spot. The visitors take their lead into half-time.
The leveller comes quickly in the second half but Eickel counter-attack again to promptly retake the lead. Bayer 04 crank up the tempo. And, within a short space of time, the match is turned round and the Werkself are 4-2 up. Manfred Höher, Bubi Becks and August Schiefer are the goalscorers. The match now begins to take a turn for the worse.
First, the Eickel player Ratajczak kicks the Bayer 04 defender Jakob Kaiser, who refuses to be intimidated and kicks straight back – both are sent off. The visitors' keeper Golbach enters into discussions with spectators behind the goal and he verbally abuses them. When he tries to punch a spectator through the net, a fist fight ensues next to his goal on 76 minutes during which two visiting players and two spectators vent their rage. It develops into a real punch-up.
Children and teenagers run onto the pitch to get a closer look at events. The match is suspended and the visitors return to the dressing room with the exception of two players. The pitch is cleared after a few minutes and the referee asks the two teams to resume the game. However, the Eickel players refuse. They try to get the match abandoned so it can be replayed.
The association ruled in favour of Bayer 04 a couple of weeks later as the team were not at fault and a 4-2 win was awarded to the Werkself. The two spectators who were involved in the fight were disciplined by the club but were back at the next game. Stadium bans were unknown at that time.
Thomas Hörster was born in Essen on 27 November 1956. As a child, he took part in high diving and judo, but was also passionate about football. After starting out at Blau-Weiß Holsterhausen-Essen, he moved on to ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen. As a U19 player, he trained with the senior side for the first time. And at just under 18 years of age, Thommy – as he is known – made his debut in Bundesliga 2. Over two-and-a-half seasons, he made 71 appearances for Schwarz-Weiß Essen.
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Bernd Dreher was born in Leverkusen on 2 November 1966 and he began playing football at SV Schlebusch at the age of five. At the age of nine, he joined the youth academy at Bayer 04. There, the goalkeeper progressed through all the youth teams and, with the U19s in 1985, he reached the final of the German Championship, that Bayer 04 lost 4-2 to Eintracht Frankfurt.
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Robson Ponte was born on 6 November 1976 in São Paulo. He began his football career in Brazil with CA Juventus. He then played for América FC and Guarani FC. In 1999, he joined Bayer 04. Robson initially played for the Werkself until 2001. He then moved to VfL Wolfsburg on a two-year loan. There, he continued to develop and gained valuable experience in the Bundesliga. In 2003, he returned to Leverkusen, where he particularly showcased his dribbling skills and his ability in attacking midfield. In total, he made 79 appearances for Bayer 04 and scored six goals.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 from the month of November. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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On Sunday, 4 November 1951, the first league derby between Bayer 04 and FC Köln took place. The FC Köln stadium in Müngersdorf was absolutely bursting at the seams for this clash. A veritable invasion of Bayer 04 fans from Leverkusen set off for Cologne by tram and bus. From midday onwards, in addition to the scheduled services, six extra tram services ran at the standard fare from Leverkusen Town Hall to the stadium in Cologne. At the same time, buses operated by Grein ran regularly from Wiesdorf market square to Cologne. In the end, over 5,000 Bayer 04 fans waved their black and red flags in the stands at the FC Köln stadium and got behind their team for ninety minutes.
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