Tired Koln settle for well-earned draw

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Tired Koln settle for well-earned draw
Hoffenheim held on to a draw
Hoffenheim held on to a draw
AFP
FC Köln missed the chance to leapfrog Hoffenheim 1899 into seventh in the Bundesliga after surrendering a one-goal lead thanks to a first of the season from Jacob Bruun Larsen. The result for the home side stops the rot of eight H2H defeats in a row.

Heavy fog caused the postponement of FC Köln’s UEFA Conference League game 600 miles away in Uherské Hradiště on Thursday. Despite being forced to play the match on Friday, the German Football Association showed no leniency ensuring the match went ahead. Head coach Steffen Baumgart was readying his excuses pre-match, but saw his side go ahead through captain Florian Kainz. It was a real mismatch of pace down the Köln right flank, with Linton Maina showing Kevin Vogt a fresh pair of heels before rolling the ball on a plate for Kainz, who swept home.

In arresting a woeful record of conceding first in nine of their 11 games so far this campaign, Hoffenheim were dumbfounded by their new-found energy. The away side saw little by way of chances, but were somehow level before HT in a finely-crafted counter-attack. Pace was the key yet again as Christoph Baumgartner beat his man down the left, digging out a cutback which was unconventionally converted by Bruun Larsen with his midriff for his first goal of the season after being confined to the bench for the last 10 league matches.

Ahead of kick-off, Kainz was ranked number one in terms of big chances created this season (10), but found an opportunity falling yet again to his feet as Benno Schmitz swung a hopeful ball across. In evading the Hoffenheim back line, Kainz was shocked with the chance leading to a tame effort saved easily by Oliver Baumann. Moments later, those inside the RheinEnergieStadion were screaming for a penalty as Denis Huseinbašić’s low cross seemed to hit Ozan Kabak’s supporting arm when sliding, but referee Frank Willenborg waved away the protests.

With the tank running on empty, Baumgart sensibly made changes to ensure defeat was out of the question. Frustratingly for the away side, Kabak received a second yellow in the closing moments after hacking down Florian Dietz, but in the end Die Kraichgauer had enough to hold out.

Flashscore Player of the Match: Florian Kainz (FC Köln)

See all the match stats

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