28th matchday
Two goals in stoppage time: Cologne beats Bochum
Cologne defeated Bochum with two late goals and celebrated an important home win in the relegation battle. photo
© Marius Becker/dpa
The game against Bochum should mark the turnaround for Cologne. It doesn’t look like it will last long. Then two jokers hit.
With a crazy final spurt including two goals in injury time 1. FC Köln celebrated an extremely important victory in the fight to stay in the league and dragged VfL Bochum even deeper into the relegation battle.
Coach Timo Schultz’s team defeated the Revierclub 2:1 (0:0). Substitutes Steffen Tigges (90th + 1 minute) and Luca Waldschmidt (90th + 2) ensured the frenetically celebrated success in front of 50,000 spectators, which was no longer thought possible. For Cologne it was the first triple point win since the beginning of February.
Victory and defeat in the relegation battle
The Rhinelanders are still second to last in the Bundesliga table and are one point behind FSV Mainz 05. The FC moved up to four points from VfL in 15th place. Bochum led for a long time thanks to a goal from Felix Passlack (53rd). Coach Thomas Letsch’s team has not won six games in a row.
Cheered on by their loud fans, the Cologne team took control at the beginning. FC played consistently forward and created their first chances to score early on. Bochum’s goalkeeper Manuel Riemann made a robust save in an aerial duel with Sargis Adamyan and was there when Linton Maina shot in the near corner. A powerful header from the busy Adamyan from close range flew over the goal. After 15 minutes the guests were quite lucky that the score was still 0-0.
The Bochum team made numerous mistakes in building up the game, especially in the early stages, and were often too late in important duels. However, VfL improved over the course of the first half. Bochum often moved the game into Cologne’s half and had the first chance after a corner. Captain Anthony Losilla volleyed Kevin Stöger’s cross, but shot just wide of the goal (22′). Defender Erhan Masovic also didn’t aim his head accurately enough (31′).
Crazy final phase
Cologne barely got into the Bochum penalty area. The FC tried hard, but there was a lack of speed and ideas on the offensive. A deflected shot from Eric Martel that narrowly missed the goal: in a game at a very manageable level, the Rhinelanders couldn’t get more out of it before the break.
After the break, Bochum became dangerous. Bochum’s Moritz Broschinski passed from the left side into the penalty area, where Passlack hit the corner.
FC coach Schultz reacted with substitutions, including sending Faride Alidou and Luca Waldschmidt onto the pitch. Alidou provided a little momentum again. A shot from the 22-year-old deflected by Bochum’s Bernardo hit the post (69′). However, FC couldn’t achieve much more going forward for a long time. Until the crazy final phase: The jokers Tigges and Waldschmidt each scored with their heads.