1. FC Köln fell to a narrow 1:0 defeat to Hamburger SV on Saturday evening. Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer’s effort was the difference between the sides, as he forced home a rebound after his penalty was saved by Marvin Schwäbe.
Team news
Merlin Polzin opted for two alterations from the team that began the 5:0 win against Greuther Fürth at the end of the Hinrunde. Sebastian Schonlau and Emir Sahiti dropped to the bench in place of Daniel Elfadli and Bakery Jatta.
Gerhard Struber made three changes to the side that started against Kaiserslautern before the Winter Break. Jan Thielmann, Max Finkgräfe and Florian Kainz were replaced by Jusuf Gazibegovic, Dominique Heintz and Luca Waldschmidt.
No goals at the break
The first-half began with Hamburg enjoying more of the ball and more of the chances. Aside from a flurry of early yellow cards on a cold winter’s eve and a brave Timo Hübers block, there was little to report in the opening exchanges.
FC’s opportunities were few and far between in the first 45 minutes, with 20-yard effort from Leart Pacarada the biggest moment of concern. HSV created the most promising opening in the first-half after a tidy passing move freed Jean-Luc Dompe. The forward’s effort was dealt with well by Marvin Schwäbe, sprawling to his left from 10 yards out.
Königsdörffer converts the rebound
The second-half saw FC slowly but surely turn the game around. However, that was not before Marvin Schwäbe made a stunning close-range stop to deny Adam Karabec’s header. Jan Thielmann, who replaced Jusuf Gazibegovic, saw his promising opening denied by a brave Hamburg block.
The game went back and forward but saw Hamburg take the lead in the 78th minute. After Max Finkgräfe fouled Marco Richter in the box, Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer was denied by Marvin Schwäbe from the spot. However, the rebound fell straight to the Hamburg striker to force home.
FC tried to mount a late comeback as Steffen Tigges and Marvin Obuz were both denied by Daniel Heuer Fernandes and Eric Martel struck the post. However, there would be no leveller for the battling FC performance. FC are next in action against SV Elversberg on Saturday, 25th January. Kick-off at the RheinEnergieSTADION is at 13:00 CET.
Line-ups
Hamburger SV (4-3-3): Heuer Fernandes – Mikelbrencis, Hadzikadunic, Elfadli, Muheim – Karabec (Poreba 72’), Meffert, Pherai (Richter 46’) – Jatta (Sahiti 56‘), Selke (Königsdörffer 72’), Dompe (Hefti 85’).
1. FC Köln (3-4-1-2): Schwäbe – Hübers, Martel, Heintz – Gazibegovic (Thielmann 58‘), Ljubicic, Huseinbasic (Obuz 76’), Pacarada (Finkgräfe 46‘) – Waldschmidt (Kainz 58‘) – Downs (Tigges 67‘), Maina.
Goals: 1:0, Königsdörffer 78’.
Referee: Christian Dingert (Lebecksmühle).
Booked: Gazibegovic (6’), Pherai (13’), Waldschmidt (55‘), Hübers (73‘), Finkgräfe (77‘), Elfadli (85‘), Mikelbrencis (90+5‘).
Attendance: 57,000 (sold-out).
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