32′
19:34
On the other side, Rizzuto tries from 35 meters. His right-footed shot looks dangerous at first, but then goes well over.
31′
19:32
Will it work with a free kick for Cologne? From the right, Sticker hits the ball onto the far post towards Lorch. But he just doesn’t get close and so the hitherto unemployed Tim Schreiber is repelled.
29′
7:31 p.m
Suddenly the guests with Naifi and Brünker go towards the goal against two remaining defenders. Naifi sends his fellow striker towards Voll, but Brünker has to slow down against Lorch and the opportunity is gone. There would have been more.
27′
19:29
Things are going well here at times. This time Marseiler Calogero hits Rizzuto on the shin on the outside line after the Saarlander had long since played the ball. Winter closes his eyes here too and tries the long leash.
25′
19:27
The next free kick for the Saarbrücken team playing in yellow. This time Rabihic hits the ball from the right wing into the middle, where Naifi heads to the ball but cannot properly control it. Goal kick.
23′
19:26
Now the home team combine to reach the Saarbrücken penalty area and Handle tries to shoot from 18 meters. But referee Winter blocks the shot, albeit unintentionally. Bitter for Victoria!
22′
19:24
The men from Höhenberg give Kasim Rabihic the chance to dangerously hit a stationary ball in front of the goal every minute. The hosts commit far too many unnecessary fouls in their own half and have to be happy that the score is currently only 0-1.
19′
7:20 p.m
Again there is a duel between Robin Becker and Luca Marseiler and again Becker brings the Cologne player down. Winter keeps the box stuck.
17′
7:18 p.m
Cologne now gets some security and lets the ball run through its own ranks without Saarbrücken getting in the way. But the Viktoria isn’t really making any progress yet. So far, Olaf Janßen’s team is still very haphazard.
14′
7:16 p.m
The double chance to make it 2-0! Once again, a Rabihic cross becomes extremely dangerous and Zeitz can head it towards the goal. But this time Voll is there and parries the well-placed header. The rebound is also in the FCS, but Brünker misses it completely.
13′
19:14
The guests attack Cologne early in their half and put the defenders under pressure. Viktoria can’t handle that and almost always has to hit the ball long. But the FCS can’t yet make more use of the large amount of ball possession.
10′
19:11
Robin Becker gets in rough against Luca Marseiler in Viktoria’s half and is lucky that he doesn’t see Winter’s yellow card.
8th’
7:09 p.m
The home team is a bit floundering and can’t get a foot on the pitch yet. Saarbrücken has so far had complete control of this game.
5′
7:07 p.m
A dream start for the Saarlanders! How do the struggling people of Cologne react to this early setback?
3′
7:04 p.m
Tooor for 1. FC Saarbrücken, 0:1 by Amine Naifi
The guests take an early lead from the following free kick! The free kick from the left winger by Rabihic comes awkwardly in front of the goal, where André Becker cannot clear the ball properly and pushes the ball directly to Amine Naifi’s feet. He doesn’t hesitate for long from seven meters and hits the ball powerfully into the goal. Full has no chance.
3′
7:04 p.m
Things get straight to the point. André Becker checks out Marcel Gaus, who is clearly physically inferior, in an aerial duel. Gaus initially remains lying down, but can continue playing.
1′
19:02
Victoria kicks off and the ball rolls! Who gets off to a better start here?
18:56
Now it’s off to the rainy stadium! The referee Nicolas Winter leads the 22 players onto the wet grass. However, before he whistles, there will be a minute’s silence. Because another legend of German football, Andreas Brehme, died at the beginning of the week. Brehme also played for the FCS in 1980-1981.
6:35 p.m
Three days after the derby victory at the Waldhof in Mannheim, the Saarlanders have to get back to it. For head coach Rüdiger Ziehl it is the 50th game as FCS coach. His points average isn’t that bad at 1.71 points per game. But it’s not yet enough for the big (desired) leap towards the 2nd Bundesliga. Everything indicates that the FCS will not be involved in either the promotion or relegation battle. The blue-blacks are currently in 12th place and have huge gaps both forward and behind. Ziehl knows about today’s opponents: “It’s a strong team, but they’re currently struggling with personnel problems and that’s why they didn’t score as much as expected.” Ziehl is making two changes to the starting staff: Rizzuto is returning to the game after serving a red card ban, as is Robin Becker. Thoelke and Günther-Schmidt rotate to the bench.
6:20 p.m
In Cologne they haven’t really arrived in 2024 yet. Four of the six games were lost, most recently three in a row, including the game against Alemannia Aachen in the state cup, when Viktoria was eliminated by the regional league team. The defeat on the last matchday at MSV Duisburg was also bitter. Not only was the result extremely unfortunate, but also the injury to defender Christoph Greger. This was completely unnecessarily checked into an advertising board by MSV veteran Alexander Esswein during a duel on the sidelines. The result: Greger had to be substituted with injuries to his knee, shoulder and hands and will not be able to take part today. However, that would have been important because Cologne absolutely needs points to avoid slipping into the relegation battle. The lead over 17th place is currently eight points, but that can be gone faster than you think. Olaf Janßen makes two changes to his starting eleven compared to the Duisburg game: Greger and Najar (bench) are replaced by Lorch and Idel (debut for Cologne).
6:10 p.m
Actually, this game should have taken place on January 20th at the start of the second half of the season for the two teams, but snow and frost prevented this. So the two teams have to serve detention in the catch-up game at Cologne’s Höhenberg. After this game, the table of the 3rd league has been straightened out again and there are no further catch-up games on the program (for now).
A warm welcome and a nice Wednesday evening to the 3rd league! The catch-up game on the 21st matchday between Viktoria Köln and 1. FC Saarbrücken will take place from 7:00 p.m. We hope you enjoy this duel!