The people on the Cologne substitute and supervisor bank no longer knew in the first moment whether they should still be happy or whether they shouldn’t rather be afraid. Anthony Modeste had just scored the almost impossible equalizing goal, which clearly spoke for jubilation and amusement. But now the center forward came running towards the bench at top speed, with a thoroughly unsettling expression on his face. Thank God: He came with good intentions.
Although Modeste was too fast for Kevin McKenna’s stamina, the assistant coach lost his balance during the hug, but the scene had an illustrious end: the happy attacker pulled the flat cap off his head, put it on himself and performed a pretty dance with it. And again a conflict arose. Baumgart didn’t know whether he should find the whole thing funny or a little too cheeky.
For the audience in the Müngersdorfer Stadion, the matter was absolutely clear: They celebrated their goalscorer for bringing 1. FC Köln 2-2 with his terrific header and saving at least one point against an extremely prickly FC Union Berlin. The Berliners had defended their 2-1 break lead in a way that lived up to their nickname: iron. Until Modeste completed the third double pack within a week and a half. He had already scored two goals in the cup game in Stuttgart and in the derby against Leverkusen. The Cologne team deserved the point because they didn’t despair of their multi-resistant opponent.
After the rapid start, the goalkeepers in particular caused talk in the audience
The first half started with a quick opening and a quick retort. Union countered Modest 1-0 (7th minute) a little faster with Ryerson’s accurately combined equalizer (9th). After that, the goalkeepers at halftime caused excitement and talk in the Cologne audience: Andreas Luthe, because he was violent against the provocative in the way Modeste (for which both received warnings). And Timo Horn, because his passive demeanor made him look unfavorable on both goals. While Luthe then triggered concerted insults every time the ball was touched, Horn had to cope with the spectators’ always noticeable mistrust. Whether he was actually complicit in the goals is a subject that can only be finally clarified with the specialist knowledge of goalkeepers who have studied there.
In truth, the authorship of the goals lay mainly with the opponent. This game was the pattern of a typical FC Union game. What the Berliners base the secret of their transformation from a permanent second to a permanent first division can be illustrated in the most recent appearance. Apart from the first few minutes, they presented themselves extremely resilient, at the same time they were a constant stress factor for their opponent in the forward defense. The way Sheraldo Becker and Genki Haragutchi drove Cologne defender Rafael Czichos into a corner and into a bad pass was a masterpiece, and Grischa Prömel’s resulting 2-1 goal was the culmination (45th).
For the greater entertainment value, however, the Cologne team ensured, above all the excellently presented Modeste, who won almost every header duel against the numerous huge Berlin central defenders. The 2: 2 had the highest difficulty factor: The header was created by moving backwards, but it still had as much speed as a hard shot, Luthe could no longer react. In the end, Florian Kaintz still had the big chance to make it 3-2, but he’s Florian Kaintz and not Anthony Modeste, and so he shot way over it.