It was supposed to be a liberation – but both 1. FC Köln and the clearly better 1. FSV Mainz 05 remain in the bottom of the Bundesliga table after a dreary zero number on Sunday evening (December 10, 2023).
“Anyone who is a real FC fan knows that this is a relegation battle and that a game like this is tough and not for aesthetes”said FC coach Steffen Baumgart afterwards to the sports show. “But we take a point with us. We wanted more, but we see this as a partial success.”
“In the end you have to win the game”
His colleague Jan Siewert was torn on the ARD microphone: “There are many aspects that make you happy. But in the end you have to win the game. We were dominant for long stretches, ultimately it was the tip of our foot that was offside that decided. But the important thing is not to complain, but to stick with it and everything to do everything we can to win games – and that’s what my team does.”
The game started according to the table, especially from the Cologne side – with little flow, no brilliant ideas and, above all, practically non-existent offensively. Mainz was clearly the more dangerous team; Jonathan Burkardt should have given the visitors the lead in the 4th minute. The striker, who had been injured for a long time, initially took Silvan Widmer’s cross excellently with his chest in his starting line-up debut and then shot hard from ten meters – but FC defender Rasmus Carstensen threw himself into the shot and cleared it brilliantly.
Nesrin Elnabolsy, Sportschau, December 10, 2023 7:28 p.m
Once Waldschmidt – then Mainz again
After just under a quarter of an hour, Cologne briefly ventured out of cover, but Mainz keeper Daniel Batz deflected Luca Waldschmidt’s long-range shot for a corner. It was the only goal-scoring situation worth seeing until the break; the goal-scoring ratio of 3:9 after 45 minutes accurately reflected the balance of power.
But the 05ers repeatedly failed to reap the rewards of their efforts. In the 25th minute, Brajan Gruda failed with a header from close range past Marvin Schwäbe, but otherwise he wasn’t particularly challenged: Jan Siewert’s team also lacked precision and penetration in the final line.
Ajorque narrowly misses
This scenario continued after the restart. Cologne’s Leart Paqarada, who had just come on as a substitute, lost the ball in the build-up, Ludovic Ajorque curved into the center from the right corner of the penalty area, but shot the ball just past the left corner.
After an hour, the visiting fans were allowed to cheer once, but the joy only lasted a few seconds. Burkhardt’s beautiful finish after a pass from Philipp Mwene was not enough to give the team a 1-0 lead because Burkhardt was just offside.
Thielmann accidentally hits the aluminum
The people of Cologne were far away from a comparable event. At least Florian Dietz had a half-chance in the 66th minute after Linton Maina’s first nice solo, but he pushed the ball quite clearly past from close range.
It was only in the last quarter of an hour that the spectacle factor finally increased somewhat. Ajorque was denied by Schwäbe, but on the other hand Batz initially fished away a Maina cross just in front of Dietz, who was ready to head in (80′). Shortly afterwards, Batz went completely wrong when he tried to parry a cross from Jan Thielmann that had turned into a shot on goal – the ball hit the Mainz inside post and from there back into the field.
A goal almost by accident would actually have been fitting for this tragedy – but the 0-0 result ultimately reflected the event quite well.
Sportschau, December 10, 2023 7:27 p.m
Mainz welcomes Heidenheim, Cologne in Freiburg
1. FSV Mainz will host Heidenheimer next matchday (Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.). Cologne faces Freiburg a day later (3:30 p.m.).