Immediately after half-time it got even worse for Hector: Completely unchallenged, he played a cross pass just before his own penalty area, which was probably intended for his keeper Schwäbe. The ball starved halfway though, allowing Awoniyi to sprint in between and slot in out of nowhere to give Union a 1-0 lead.
Lots of midfield, little penalty area
After that, the game drifted increasingly into insignificance. A lot happened in midfield, but very little in the two penalty areas. From the Berliners’ point of view, that was fine: With the three points, they passed their direct competitor and can certainly continue to dream of being represented internationally again in the coming season.
Cologne is not yet out of the race either, but urgently needs to work on plan B if Modeste is not able to participate: In the second round, Steffen Baumgart’s team only had the first shot on goal in the 95th minute (!), but it was blocked .
Union now required in the derby
For the Unioner, the derby against Hertha is coming up next Saturday (09.04.2022), Cologne welcomes the next competitor in the fight for seventh place with the 1. FSV Mainz 05.