From the archives: Sensational season 1967/68 – April

After more than an hour at the Kampfbahn Schwansbell the 7,000 Lünen spectators are almost despairing with the 400 or so Bayer 04 fans nervously awaiting the first goal from the constantly attacking hosts, Leverkusen's Karl-Heinz Brücken races down the right flank. The centre-forward crosses into the Lünen penalty area where Helmut Richert is in exactly the right spot to head the Werkself into a 1-0 lead. This almost completely unexpected goal breaks the morale of the Lünen players. Shortly before the end, Helmut Brücken has another goalscoring opportunity after rounding two opponents but he blasts the ball high over the bar from seven yards out. Bayer 04 had to put in a heavy shift in defence before the winner. Goalkeeper Hans Benzler, defenders Willy Haag and Günter Haarmann plus centre-half Leo Wilden hold the Leverkusen defence together. In the end there is a very fortunate away win and two more points in the race for one of two coveted top spots. The Werkself remain in second place as Rot-Weiss Essen and Rot-Weiß Oberhausen also win their games.

A week later, on Easter Monday 15 April 1968, 13,000 enthusiastic Leverkusen fans come to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. And the Bayer team do not disappoint. They present a completely different picture from the week before in Lünen. With plenty of pressure, aggressive in challenges and full of verve, the Werkself besiege the Neuss goal but their goalkeeper appears unbeatable. Klaus Görtz has to leave the pitch injured on 39 minutes to be replaced by Peter Rübenach but that does not affect the Bayer 04 game. However, there is a blow on 43 minutes: VfR Neuss take the lead from a counter-attack. The same story in the second half. Hectic scenes in the Neuss penalty area. Finally on 79 minutes, the more than deserved equaliser from substitute Peter Rübenach. A counter-attack four minutes later sees Helmut Röhrig clear after his keeper Hans Benzler is beaten but then follows salvation for the 13,000 fans four minutes later. Peter Rübenach scores again this time with a harmless looking effort that almost trickles across the line in slow motion for the much celebrated 2-1 lead. There is no change at the top of the table as the two main rivals in the league also win their games.

Matchday 31 on Sunday 21 April takes the Bayer players to Bochum for the game at Castroper Straße. Bochum are currently in fifth place but have surprisingly progressed to the semi-finals of the DFB Cup after home wins against the Bundesliga clubs Karlsruher FC, VfB Stuttgart and Borussia Mönchengladbach and they are considered to be particularly strong at home. VfL are led by the Leverkusen-born and former Bayer 04 player Heinz Höher. But the Werkself prove that they are in the top three for a good reason, particularly in the first half. Again and again the Bochum defence is penetrated with fast counter-attacks, which leads to a fully deserved 2-0 lead at half-time with goals from Fredi Hennecken and Karl-Heinz Brücken. Nevertheless, Bayer 04 are lucky in the second half after conceding a goal on 73 minutes as the post saves the day shortly before the end of the match with Hans Benzler already beaten. But the two points are there in the end and focus turns the home game against Wuppertaler SV on the following Sunday. At the same time as the Rot-Weiss teams from Essen and Oberhausen face each other.

Bayer 04 start nervously against Wuppertal. The visitors push the Werkself back into their own half and the Black and Reds find it difficult to get going. With a fortunate 0-0 scoreline at half-time, the Bayer players have to be inspired by coach Theo Kirchberg. The second half starts with a bang. Peter Rübenach scores the opener on 47 minutes. Now everything goes in one direction: towards the Wuppertal goal well protected by the former Bayer 04 handball keeper Dieter Auris. Goals numbers two and three are just a question of time. Günter Haarmann und Friedhelm Strzelczyk finally make it 3-0 on 69 and 86 minutes – the Werkself have made their contribution to going top of the table. Now it's a matter of waiting for the result from Essen. The home team win 1-0 against the league leaders from Oberhausen. Bayer 04 Leverkusen go top of the table on 28 April 1968 with a one- and two-point advantage over the two pursuing teams from Essen and Oberhausen. With two games to play, the Werkself need two wins to secure the Regional League West title. And they should come against relegated VfB Bottrop and Schwarz-Weiss Essen. However, as so often, Bayer 04 make things exciting right to the end.