Verl on course for a record: Only one more win is missing

Berkan Taz (right) jumped to the top of the 3. Liga scoring list with his two goals against Aue. IMAGO/Eibner

SC Verl is enjoying a worry-free season and even still has a theoretical chance of jumping into the relegation play-off spot. However, that's a highly unlikely scenario, and one that would require all of SCV's rivals to stumble considerably in the remaining three games. Even without a top-three finish, Alexander Ende 's team is having an impressive season.

With three matchdays remaining, Verl is just two points away from the club's record points tally in the 3. Liga. The 56 points were set in the 2020/21 debut season under coach Guerino Capretti . Back then, Verl finished in seventh place, and the club currently holds that position. Any further move up the table would therefore also represent a new record for the club.

Their opponents in the next three matches are Saarbrücken, 1860 Munich, and Osnabrück. For FCS, every point counts in the battle for third place. Verl could, on the one hand, spoil Saarland's promotion battle, and on the other, the two clubs are only six points apart. A win could put SCV within three points of Saarbrücken. 1860 Munich are in no man's land in the table, but until their 1-0 defeat to Rostock, they were in pretty good form recently, so they are anything but regulars. And Osnabrück currently needs every point in the relegation battle, but it's quite possible that the Lower Saxony side will already be safe on matchday 38 when they face Verl.

Verl's points record is certainly a realistic goal. One win is enough for the team to break the 55-point mark. One of the key players in this endeavor will be Berkan Taz . He is currently the top scorer in the 3. Liga. The 26-year-old has scored 11 goals and assisted 13 more in 34 games. This puts him one point ahead of Dresden's Christoph Daferner and three points ahead of Cottbus's Tolcay Cigerci .

The attacking midfielder will have the ambition to top the list of the 3. Liga's top scorers at the end of the season, but he has already set a new record: With his two goals in the 5-1 win against Aue, Taz raised the club's scoring record in the 3. Liga to 24 points. The East Westphalians' previous top scorer in professional football was Zlatko Janjic in the 2020/21 season with 22 points.

Taz, who has an average rating of 2.79 according to kicker, making him the highest-rated player from Verl this season, is unsurprisingly also being watched by other clubs. However, after the winter break, he signed a new contract with SC Verl. The club did not disclose the term. It remains to be seen whether the new contract was simply intended to create a better negotiating position or whether Taz will actually stay with Verl long-term.