Victory in Cologne in the video
©IMAGO
The hope for the miracle from the Ostalb is alive and the Bundesliga will have a heart-stopping finale for the relegation decision. After 1. FC Heidenheim’s 3:1 (2:1) win at 1. FC Köln, the last three teams in the table will go into the 34th matchday with equal points for the first time. Goals from Jan Schöppner (8th/72nd minute) and Arijon Ibrahimovic (28th) made Heidenheim’s first away win in almost half a year perfect and keep the belief in the miraculous rescue alive.
Coach Frank Schmidt’s team, which had been at the bottom of the Bundesliga for months, took advantage of the defeats of third-from-bottom Wolfsburg (0-1 against Bayern) and new bottom-place St. Pauli (1-2 in Leipzig) and drew level on points (26). Before the final game of the season against Mainz, only the goal difference separates Heidenheim (-29) from Wolfsburg (-26), which is in a direct duel with St. Pauli (-29). The Cologne team, for whom Marius Bülter scored (10th), were saved before the game even started.
The guests went into the game courageously, which they absolutely had to win. “And now honestly, what do we have left to lose for weeks? Nothing at all. We have nothing to lose now either. We are still eighteenth,” Heidenheim’s coach Schmidt said before the game on “DAZN”. In the last six matchdays, his team had caught up with the competition by seven points. After the victory in Cologne, Heidenheim moved past FC St. Pauli in the table to 17th place because of the more goals scored.
Whistles for careless professionals at 1. FC Köln
The Cologne team approached the game carelessly in view of their rescue. Central defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey arrived too late to sweat in the morning and was then left out of the squad by Cologne coach René Wagner. “We’ve talked all week about the fact that the game is important for us, and we have to show our attitude and if the player comes late in the morning, then there have to be consequences. The team has to feel that,” said Wagner, who is to be confirmed as a permanent coach in the coming days. The 37-year-old was promoted from assistant to interim coach in March after separating from Lukas Kwasniok.
Without Simpson-Pusey, there was a lack of order in the Cologne backline, especially in the early stages. Cenk Özkacar made two serious and serious mistakes before Heidenheim took the lead. However, after midfielder Schöppner’s header, FC equalized immediately. With Bülter’s powerful shot from a tight angle, Frank Feller was powerless in the Heidenheim goal. FCH coach Schmidt had surprisingly promoted the 22-year-old to the new number one before the game and put Diant Ramaj, who was weak in the 3-3 draw at FC Bayern, on the bench.
“There is no one reason,” said Schmidt about his goalkeeper change. Feller had seriously injured his knee before the season, was out for months and, according to Schmidt, had recently brought himself back to an “absolute top level” in training. Schmidt made it clear that Feller would remain in goal even in the event of the relegation games.
Heidenheim double packer Schöppner puts a lid on it
That became more likely again in the first half thanks to Ibrahimovic’s renewed lead. Cologne’s defense also looked bad when the guests scored 2-1. Heidenheim remained in control of the game against carefree FC, but sometimes acted too awkwardly and missed the possible third goal in several situations before the break. The result was whistles from the Cologne fans at half-time.
In the second half, the Rhinelanders initially appeared more determined and played more offensively, which gave the guests room to counterattack. However, this too was only used insufficiently. It wasn’t until almost twenty minutes before the end that Schöppner finally put the lid on it.
A notice: If you google something, in addition to the normal results, you will also see a box with current news. If you set Transfermarkt as your preferred source, our content will appear there more often for you. Add TM as a preferred source here.
