Bochum miss out on home win against weak Cologne
1. FC Köln cannot get away from the bottom of the Bundesliga table. Coach Steffen Baumgart's team only drew 1:1 (0:1) with direct rivals VfL Bochum, but still managed to salvage a very fortunate point.
The clearly superior VfL failed to score more than the one goal by Lukas Daschner (25th minute) against the highly unsettled Rhinelanders. Davie Selke (54) punished this with his third goal of the season.
For FC in particular, the third draw of the season was not enough. With six points after eleven games, Cologne remain bottom of the table, at least until Sunday. Bochum once again missed out on their first home win of the season despite playing a superior game for a long time, but remain 14th in the table and three points ahead of Cologne.
For coach Thomas Letsch's team, however, the points were not enough. VfL were better from the start and showed why Cologne are bottom of the table. In some situations, the Rhineland side's defense proved to be less than first league-caliber. However, Bochum often lacked the quality in attack to exploit this. The visitors fought their way into the game without becoming compelling in attack.
VfL looked more determined and deservedly took the lead after just under half an hour. Visiting keeper Marvin Schwäbe smacked a shot from Philipp Hofmann at the feet of Bochum debutant Daschner, who only had to dust it off. The 25-year-old new signing from FC St. Pauli had come into the team due to the illness of captain Anthony Losilla.
As a result, Cologne failed to concede a goal in their 19th Bundesliga match in a row. And the new setback for the troubled FC was not without consequences. From then on, only Bochum played, but failed to add the overdue second goal. This was mainly due to Schwäbe's brilliant save.
After the break, Takuma Asano missed the best opportunity alone in front of the FC keeper. This took its revenge. The lucky equalizer came shortly afterwards. Selke successfully finished off a counter-attack - Cologne's first real chance on goal.
Bochum shook themselves briefly and then pressed for the lead again. VfL coach Letsch will have to find solutions, especially offensively, in order to lead his team successfully through the fight against relegation again.
FC, on the other hand, are currently lacking far more: self-confidence, class and attacking play do not seem to be there at the moment. The upcoming opponent does not give much hope either. After the international break, they face record champions Bayern Munich in two weeks' time.
- Despite playing a superior game for a long time, VfL Bochum unfortunately missed their chance to secure a home win against 1st FC Cologne, as the Rhinelanders managed to salvage a draw with a goal by Davie Selke (54).
- With the draw against VfL Bochum, 1st FC Cologne continued their struggling performance in the Bundesliga, as they remain at the bottom of the table with only six points from eleven games, featuring in the 'Soccer' Bundesliga.
Source: www.dpa.com
