1. FC Köln took a step out of the crisis in the 2nd Bundesliga with an away win at Hertha BSC and gave the club’s sporting leadership some breathing room.
Thanks to the 1-0 (1-0) in Berlin, Cologne initially climbed to tenth place and now has 15 points. Hertha remains sixth with 17 points. Tim Lemperle scored the decisive goal.
For Cologne it was their second competitive win in a row after their cup win against Holstein Kiel. The success brings some peace to the sporting leadership around managing director Christian Keller and coach Gerhard Struber. Both are under pressure after FC’s disappointing season so far. Before the game, Keller emphasized on “Sky” that the number of points scored so far was “not our claim”.
After three competitive game wins in a row, Hertha BSC missed out on jumping into the relegation spot with another success, at least temporarily. “We weren’t good today, we made too many mistakes. Then it’s hard to collect points”said Hertha’s coach Cristian Fiel on ARD radio.
Tabea Kunze, Sportschau, November 2nd, 2024 10:45 p.m
Hertha harmless, Cologne in the lead
FC were more dominant in the first half and took the lead in the 31st minute. Dominique Heintz set up Lemperle with a long pass. Lemperle deliberately pushed in clear in front of Hertha goalkeeper Tjark Ernst. The goal was celebrated by 15,000 Cologne fans who had traveled with them. “It was an incredibly nice feeling to play here today”said Lemperle at the sports show microphone.
Tabea Kunze, Sportschau, November 2nd, 2024 10:54 p.m
Hertha appeared harmless until the break. Marvin Schwäbe was in goal at Cologne, as he was in the cup, even though Jonas Urbig had been declared number one before the season. Cologne coach Gerhard Struber also made some tactical changes, including a three-man chain.
Cologne’s Tim Lemperle (r.) shoots at the goal in front of Hertha’s players Toni Leistner and Kevin Sessa
“We set pinpricks and defended together very stably”he told the sports show. “The system helps the boys.” On the goalkeeper question he said: “Now we made this decision. Because we believed that he could help the team with his leadership qualities and experience. And today we saw once again that he is a stabilizer for our game.”
Tabea Kunze, Sportschau, November 2nd, 2024 10:58 p.m
Cologne missed an early decision against Hertha
Hertha became a little more courageous after the break, but did not finish some situations cleanly. Cologne failed to decide the game early. Lemperle played a pass to Dejan Ljubicic in the penalty area, who finished free in front of the goal but didn’t hit the ball properly (60′).
Hertha was no longer able to put Cologne under any decisive pressure in the final phase. Florian Niederlechner only hit the side netting when he had a chance.
Hertha in Darmstadt, Cologne against Fürth
Things continue for both teams next Saturday (November 9th, 2024, 1 p.m.): Hertha BSC will then play at Darmstadt 98, Cologne will meet SpVgg Greuther Fürth at home.
