1. FC Köln won their dress rehearsal before the start of the second half of the season. However, two key players were injured in the 3-2 win against Viktoria Cologne.
After the 3-2 win against Viktoria Köln, coach Gerhard Struber probably didn’t know what should worry him more. The poor performance of his team over a long period of time, which was 2-0 down against the third division team at half-time – or the injuries to Tim Lemperle and Dejan Ljubicic. Both top performers had to be replaced on Tuesday afternoon during the dress rehearsal for the start of the second half of the season (Saturday evening at Hamburger SV) due to suspected muscular injuries in the thigh.
“We don’t have any really good feedback yet, we just have to wait and see,” explained Struber after the game in the Franz Kremer Stadium and announced that investigations would be carried out “in the foreseeable future”. Lemperle and Ljubicic probably went straight from Geißbockheim to the MediaPark Clinic. The second division leaders are expected to announce diagnoses on Wednesday. It wouldn’t be surprising if the two regulars each suffered a torn muscle fiber.
1. FC Cologne: Gerhard Struber with a “standstill” announcement to the A-Elf
While Struber was worried about Lemperle and Ljubicic, he had to be extremely annoyed by the performance of many other players. The FC started with some momentum against city rivals Viktoria with what was supposed to be their best team, but were 0-2 behind at half-time due to huge gaps in the defense. Serhat Güler (21st minute) and Said El Mala (40th), who had already been signed by the “Billy Billy Goats”, scored for the third division team.
“We played a weak first half, where the opponent could have taken a bigger lead, you have to realize that,” Struber commented on the poor first half. The announcement to his senior team was therefore unmistakable: “When we are at 100 percent, when everyone has their antennas out, it is difficult for every opponent. But if we believe that we can win games at standstill, then we will fall below them Wheels.”
It was only after half-time, when both teams had made complete substitutions, that FC managed to catch up. Double packer Luca Waldschmidt, who first scored beautifully from 22 meters into the corner (63′) and later scored safely from the penalty spot (80′), as well as an own goal from Viktoria’s Patrick Koronkiewicz (77′) gave the second division team a 3-2 win.
Struber was at least able to praise his substitute players: “In the second half we saw a team that was simply much better in the basics, much more willing, much clearer. You can see, and that makes me very happy, that a lot of the boys Maybe they were a step behind, they’re just showing that they’ve got what it takes.” The FC coach concluded: “The race for the starting places is once again open.”
New signing Joël Schmied, who came on as a substitute in the second half and was promptly one of the winners on his debut, will certainly also be involved in this. “He’s clean, he’s clear and he can defend,” Struber praised the performance of the Swiss central defender, who was only signed on Monday, and also mentioned happily: “He has speed, he has dynamism – all of that will help us in the next few weeks and months .” Possibly as early as Saturday Hamburg.