Erzgebirge Aue just about survived in a season of turmoil that started very early in the campaign. Some frictions between coach Letsch and the Board over the summer ruined Erzgebirge’s summer transfer activity and when the eccentric boss lost his first two league games of the season he was sacked.
The Violets achieved four wins and a draw in the first six matches since Letsch was gone and this definitely proved to be the right decision as it improved the mood of the players and everyone involved with the club. Drews was appointed as permanent coach at the end of August and he changed the formation of the defence from four to three, with one typical holding midfielder always playing as part of the back line under the new coach.
Erzgebirge definitely played modern style of football under their new coach and despite struggling for goals, Nazarov had a disappointing campaign and for months it was Kopke that carried the burden of the forward actions on his shoulders, the Violets remained out of trouble up until the winter break. This was achieved thanks to a six-game unbeaten run on home turf stretching from September to Christmas.
The start of 2018 proved difficult as Erzgebirge lost all of their 3 opening games after the short break, plus the limited finances saw just one winter signing made. Still the arrival of striker Munsy allowed the Violets to use 3-4-3 much more often and also the Swiss striker scored some crucial goals, which combined with Kopke’s regular contributions carried the team forward.
Eight-game unbeaten run between rounds 22 and 29 seem to have secured Erzgebirge’s mid-table finish, but just one point collected from their last five matches saw the Violets collapsing into 16th place on the last day of the season. This meant play-off against Karlsruher for the right to play in the Second Tier next season.
In the crucial play-off Erzgebirge showed maturity away from home to earn decisive 0:0 draw and back in Aue where they have been very solid all campaign they won 3:1 and finally celebrated safety.
