10th matchday
Cologne missed out on a win and remained in the bottom of the table
Cologne’s Eric Martel (l) and Timo Hübers (r) clamp down on Augsburg’s Philipp Tietz. photo
© Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
Cologne is improving in the Bundesliga, but not successful. Augsburg is still undefeated under the new coach.
1. FC Köln has achieved a breakthrough in the relegation battle Missed the Bundesliga and slipped to last place in the table. Coach Steffen Baumgart’s team had to settle for a 1-1 draw against FC Augsburg.
The situation is uncomfortable for Baumgart after just one win this season, but a separation from the Cologne cult coach is not to be expected. The Augsburg team remained undefeated in the third game in a row under new coach Jess Thorup and are firmly in the middle of the table. In front of 49,300 spectators in the RheinEnergieStadion, Linton Maina scored the opening goal (16th minute), Phillip Tietz scored for the guests.
Baumgart makes four changes
Baumgart had confirmed his announcement of several changes in the starting eleven with four changes. In addition to the two new full-backs Rasmus Carstensen and Dominique Heintz, Mark Uth and Steffen Tigges also slipped into the first eleven. “We now have two opponents, Augsburg and Bochum, against whom it’s all about getting points. It has to be seen that we want that with all our might,” demanded Baumgart and restructured his team accordingly in two additional positions .
The team seemed to get the message. The Cologne team took the initiative right from the start and got their first chance through the strong Luca Waldschmidt (7th). Mark Uth’s comeback to the starting eleven after almost 18 months was also good for the Cologne game. The 32-year-old played his 50th game for the Rhinelanders.
Ten minutes after his first chance, Waldschmidt came into action as a provider and gave Maina the chance to take the lead 1-0. It was the 24-year-old’s first goal in seven months. He also recently scored against Augsburg.
Balance gives guests security
The new FCA coach Jess Thorup relied on his winning team from the last two games. Only Maximilian Bauer moved into the starting lineup for the suspended Felix Uduokhai. With the first successful attack, the patient guests managed to equalize through Tietz, who scored after good preparatory work on the right side by Robert Gumny. The equalizer gave the guests’ game security and self-confidence for further offensive actions. Midfielder Niklas Dorsch was unlucky before the break with a free kick hitting the crossbar (41′).
But the people of Cologne also remained dangerous. On the offensive, Uth and Waldschmidt harmonized well and repeatedly caused dangerous situations in front of the Augsburg goal. Waldschmidt had the best opportunity in the 53rd minute, but was denied by Augsburg keeper Finn Dahmen. Despite an improved playing system and more offensive actions, the hosts were no longer able to get the much-needed home win and were lucky that Ruben Vargas (78th) only hit the inside post.