1. FC Magdeburg: A Rising In The East

You're smashing it mate. Let's try to make that gap as big as possible and guarantee your promotion asap!

Very good season so far, hopefully you can keep this run going!

The run continues! Fantastic so far just need to keep it going, as cliche as it sounds. At the end of the day, it's a marathon not a sprint.

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Magdeburg Dealt Philip Turpitz Blow

10 September 2017

- Winger set for 5 week absence from the first team
- Turpitz sprained ankle ligaments during 1-0 victory over Meppen
- Florian Pick set for opportunity in starting eleven

Christopher Steegmann was today dealt a blow as he learnt the extent of Philip Turpitz’s injury, which the 26 year old winger sustained during yesterday’s 1-0 victory over Meppen. The 26 year old, played just 42 minutes during the victory at the MDCC Arena, before going down under a heavy tackles and subsequently being replaced by Florian Pick who came on to put in a good performance in the win that saw Magdeburg move 10 points clear at the top of the 3. Liga after only 9 games. Turpitz has been ever present in Steegmann’s team selection this season, starting all nine league games so far, scoring 4 goals and assisting 5 averaging a rating of 7.60 according to Opta.

Having started the campaign in flying form, Turpitz’s injury will be a huge blow to Christopher Steegmann who has relied on the winger as his starting winger in his 4-2-3-1 formation and since signing from Chemnitzer in the summer, Turpitz has impressed. According to the clubs physios the injury is likely to keep Turpitz out of action for around 5 weeks although it is expected that the German winger will return to training in 4 weeks. The injury also means that Turpitz is likely to miss the visit of his former club Chemnitzer on October 14th.

Speaking to fc-magdeburg.de Christopher Steegmann gave his thoughts on the loss of one of his key players during the early stages of the season.

10.09.17, 12:30 Christopher Steegmann: Losing Philip is a big blow for us it really is. He has been an exceptional performer for us in the opening weeks of the season and has been a big reason for us starting the season so well. Our thoughts are with Philip and hopefully this injury doesn’t come to plague him and he can put it behind him once he is back and fully fit. However we have options available to us and Florian [Pick] and Tarek [Chahed] are very good players that can do a job for us out on that right wing and hopefully come the game against Wurzburg next weekend I’ll have a clearer idea of who is starting the game for us.

Comments

Aaron: Things are going pretty well aye, the gap is there to be extended and hopefully it’s within our capabilities to do that!

TNFM: That’s the plan mate, immediate promotion to the 2. Bundesliga

ScottT: The rest of the league is so competitive between each other that they’re all taking points off each other and if we do keep it going we’ll be well clear at the top!

Last Update: #13 August Catch Up
Next Update: #15 Beck Celebrates 100 League Goals In Important Win

Tough blow to take but let's hope pick can fill his boots nicely. I keep the faith

Bad injury there hopefully his replacement will be just as good

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Beck Celebrates 100 League Goals In Important Win

30 September 2017

- Christian Beck Scores 100th League Goal For Magdeburg
- Striker scores twice in 3-0 win over VfR Aalen
- Helps Magdeburg extend lead at top back to 7 points

Christian Beck was left celebrating reaching a big milestone for FCM earlier this afternoon as he scored his 100th career league goal as the forward helped the side to an important 3-0 victory over VfR Aalen. With Magdeburg having lost their previous two league games, 1-0 against Wurzburg and 2-0 against Jena, the gap at the top of the 3. Liga had been cut from 10 points to 5 and with Aalen having won four games on the bounce, it was them who had form on their side and Aalen who had the chance to close the gap at the top of the table to just 2 points. However with Beck on form, scoring twice and a goal from Tobias Schwede, FCM ran out 3-0 winners to extend their lead at the top to 7 points and allow Christopher Steegmann to breathe a little more easily going into the second international break of the season.

For Christian Beck though it was a simple near post header in the 52nd minute that saw the forward score his 99th league goal for the club having connected with Tobias Schwede’s whipped cross, before the 29 year old forward ran onto Andreas Ludwig’s through ball to register his 100th league goal for FCM, six years after his arrival at the MDCC Arena from Halberstadt in 2011. Having scored 17 goals in 36 games in the 3. Liga last season, Beck is now on 13 goals in 12 appearances in the division this season and looks set to beat his tally from last season quite comfortably as his side begin to look like serious contenders for a place in the 2. Bundesliga next season.

Having been congratulated by his manager and his team mates at the end of the game, Christian Beck went on to tell fc-magdeburg.de of his delight at having reached the milestone.

30.09.17, 16:30 Christian Beck: It’s a great feat to reach for me, especially when it comes at a club with such a proud history and for it to come in such an important game for this team having lost our previous two games was brilliant. We were under pressure to go and get a result this afternoon but we have done and we played some good football again and it helped me to get my goals. I want to just say thank you to the boss and the fans for having faith in me and the support because without that this wouldn’t have been possible.

Beck then went on to, when asked about whether he was targeting breaking Joachim Streich’s record of 176 league goals for the club, deny that it was already in his sights.

30.09.17, 16:35 Christian Beck: No it’s not quite in my sights yet. It’s still a long way off and I’m 29 now but you do never know. My priority at the moment though is concentrating on helping this team achieve its aims this season, and if we do that for the next few years then I’ll maybe start thinking about it.

Comments

Aaron: Yeah a big blow but we’ve got replacements in waiting and hopefully they fill the void

MJK46: I guess we’ll have to wait and see!

Last Update: #14 Magdeburg Dealt Philip Turpitz Blow
Next Update: #15 September Catch Up

2 bouts of good news. A solid win, and 100 goals!!! Good stuff, loving the gap at the top of the league. Can't wait to see you in the Bundesliga .2. I know you'll be there next year

Comments

Aaron: Yeah our form slipped and we picked up a great result and our leading man scored the all important goals! Yeah I can’t wait to get into the 2. Bundesliga, this group of players needs testing against sides that have come down from the Bundesliga and some of the other big names in the second tier!

Last Update: #15 Beck Celebrates 100 League Goals In Important Win
Next Update: #17 Lohkemper: "More Goals Will Come"

The form this month is a shame, especially when going for the league at such an early stage in the season. I'm sure you can pick yourselves up and dust yourselves off.

A few little setbacks but you're still quite a distance clear which shows how incredibly well you've started.

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Lohkemper: “More Goals Will Come"

16 October 2017

- Striker scored first goal since transfer from Mainz in the summer
- 22 year old admits struggling since transfer but claims he’s turned a corner
- Confident he can fill the void left by Christian Beck’s injury

As Magdeburg came from behind on Friday night to beat Chemnitzer 3-1, Felix Lohkemper was the man who started the comeback by scoring a stunning strike from just inside the penalty area in the 76th minute. It was the 22 year olds first goal for FCM since his free transfer from FSV Mainz in the summer, coming in his seventh appearance, although 6 of these appearances have been from the substitutes bench. However the striker told fc-magdeburg.de that he was confident that his hard work on the training ground would earn him a starting spot in the team during Christian Beck’s absence from the team after the clubs leading scorer was taken off injured during the win on Friday night. The striker also revealed that he had struggled so far since his transfer but was confident a corner had now been turned in the interview below.

FC-Magdeburg.de: Felix, thank you for taking the time out to join us today, congratulations on your first goal on Friday night, that must have been a weight off your shoulder?

Felix Lohkemper: Thank you for having me. Thank you very much, yes it was a relief and I think that was reflected in my celebration come Friday night. It’s been a long time coming if we’re being honest, especially as we’re now well into October.

FC-Magdeburg.de: With Christian Beck facing a couple of weeks on the sidelines after that concussion injury on Friday night, surely you must be looking to seal a consistent place in the starting XI?

Felix Lohkemper: More than definitely. Christian’s injury is unfortunate of course it is and he’s not our leading goalscorer for nothing but I think now is the opportunity to make a real claim for the starting place up top. I think, hopefully on Friday night I proved I could be relied upon in front of goal, especially as I thought I took my goal very well, and with any luck the manager will be looking at my performance on Friday night and thinking I deserve Christian’s place.

FC-Magdeburg.de: Obviously it was your first goal since signing, we know that much but would you admit to having struggled in front of goal since the transfer?

Felix Lohkemper: If I’m being brutally honest with myself, then I’d have to say yes I have struggled. I was happy with my pre-season but competitive football is a whole new ball game, and putting chances away has been harder. Obviously not starting games and coming off the substitutes bench makes it harder to come in and make an impact but you still do have to take that opportunity.

FC-Magdeburg.de: Would you say that your goal against Chemnitzer was you turning a corner then?

Felix Lohkemper:Yeah I would like to think so. Scoring that goal was a huge relief like I said earlier but it’s about filling the role the manager is asking you to do and that’s what happened on Friday night unlike any other time I’ve come off the bench.

FC-Magdeburg.de: With FCM’s flying start to the season, have you been finding that defences have been making life harder for you especially when you’d probably say you play a different role to that which Christian Beck does?

Felix Lohkemper: That might play into it a little bit. Me and Christian are different definitely, and maybe defences do deal with the way I play a bit better, but if you want to play at an even higher level you need to work your way around that.

FC-Magdeburg.de: Fortuna Koln are currently 15th in the 3. Liga whilst Magdeburg are quite clearly top of the table, what do you expect them to do and set up defensively?

Felix Lohkemper:It’s not hard to see that at the minute they’re struggling for results so I’d imagine that they will sit deep and make life difficult for us. We’ve got to keep working our way around it and scoring the goals we are doing which are winning us the games. They’ll make life difficult for us but I am and we are confident that we can get the right result to keep us going strong at the top.

FC-Magdeburg.de: Right, well that concludes this interview. Thank you very much Felix, good luck on Saturday.

Felix Lohkemper:Thank you very much, see you soon.

Comments

Aaron: Yeah it was disappointing to lose those games the way we did, still quite clear at the top though so everythings still going well, hopefully we’ll be able to put them behind us moving forward

ScottT: We were always going to lose games at some stage this season so better to do it early on and you’re right, we’re still well clear at the moment so all is good!

Last Update: #16 September Catch Up
Next Update: #18 Duker Steegmann's Last Port Of Call In Injury Crisis

Nice to get the win against Chemnitz. The start of another winning streak I assume!

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Duker Steegmann’s Last Port Of Call In Injury Crisis

20 October 2017

- Striker set to start as Magdeburg’s only fit striker
- Made just two substitute appearances this season
- Both Felix Lohkemper and Christian Beck set to miss game through injury

21 year old Julius Duker will take centre stage for FCM on Sunday at Fortuna Koln as the forward remains Christopher Steegmann’s only fit striker going into the game on Matchday 14 of the 3. Liga season. With Christian Beck missing the game after his concussion in Matchday 13’s 3-1 victory over Chemnitzer, Felix Lohkemper was set to start the game, however the 22 year old, who joined FCM from Mainz in the summer suffered a pulled calf muscle in training on Thursday meaning he too will now miss the game. For Julius Duker, the game will represent a big step up in responsibility having only made two appearances for FCM off the substitutes bench this season.

Having arrived from Eintracht Braunschweig on a free transfer last summer, Duker scored 2 goals in 23 appearances for FCM last season but has so far not been afforded the same opportunities by new manager Christopher Steegmann. However with both first choice striker Beck and reserve forward Lohkemper now out for at least a week, Duker will be hopeful he can take his opportunity and prove to Steegmann why he deserves more first team football as the halfway stage in this years 3. Liga approaches.

When speaking to the media ahead of Sunday’s game, Christopher Steegmann was asked for his thoughts on the injury crisis he was facing ahead of the game, but claimed he had full confidence in Duker’s ability to help FCM get the right result.

20.10.17, 12:30 Christopher Steegmann: Yes we are facing a bit of a situation in terms of fit strikers who can play that role. However we have three forwards at this club and in Julius we have a player that will fill the void left by Felix and Christian and a player that I am confident will be able to step up and put in the necessary level of performance come Sunday. Goals come from confidence and Julius need only look at how well we are performing this season and how well the players around him are performing and he will have a great game, I am sure of it.

Comments

TheN1886: Yeah Chemnitzer are atm looking like a good side so to come from behind to win was great and for Lohkemper to score was even better

Last Update: #17 Lohkemper: “More Goals Will Come
Next Update: #19 October Catch Up

Last Update: #18 Duker Steegmann’s Last Port Of Call In Injury Crisis
Next Update: #20 Krimphove Promises To Take Magdeburg To Next Level