Damper instead of liberation, disappointment instead of joy: 1. FC Köln has to deal with the next setback in the Bundesliga.
The home game against FC St. Pauli should be for the 1. FC Cologne become a knot remover. After three games without a win and recent poor performances, the billy goats wanted to score the longed-for break with a three-pointer against the neighborhood kickers from Millerntor. Things turned out differently in the most unfortunate way.
The fact that FC conceded the 1-1 equalizer at the final whistle because goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe slipped left the players and those in charge briefly in shock. Lukas Kwasniok openly admitted that this game had been an effective goal. And the players also knew: FC had lost this game 1-1.
But complaining doesn’t help the billy goats two weeks before the winter break. The derby against Bayer Leverkusen is just around the corner on Saturday. And after the defeat in the duel against Borussia Mönchengladbach, FC still has a derby score to settle and they owe their fans something. Therefore there is no time for tribulation. The FC has to go back into attack mode.
The billy goats are very aware that something is out of balance. The major injury concerns in defense have caused an imbalance in the structure from defense to attack. Too many players have to play in unfamiliar positions, too many players are forced to lose their greatest strengths. But Kwasniok has no other choice. As long as four of six central defenders are missing, options are few and far between.
So the FC now has to show what Kwasniok had repeatedly demanded before the season in the upcoming relegation battle: resilience and the ability to suffer. As an underdog in the Bundesliga, FC has so far distinguished itself primarily through its fighting and running qualities. These will be particularly in demand in Leverkusen.
The Billy Goats remain comfortably in the middle of the table with 16 points. But because teams like Wolfsburg and Heidenheim have now started to score, it is clear: After four games without a win, Cologne must get back on the road to success. And hardly any game is better suited for this than a derby.