1. FC Köln are out of the DFB-Pokal in the second round. 1. FC Kaiserslautern led 3:0 after the hour mark thanks to goals from Richmond Tachie, Kenny Prince Redondo and Marlon Ritter. Jan Thielmann and Mark Uth’s goals set up a grandstand finish but there would be no third for FC late on.
Team news
Dirk Schuster named an unchanged starting side from the 3:3 draw with Hamburger SV on Saturday evening.
Steffen Baumgart opted for one alteration after the defeat to Leipzig last time out. Rasmus Carstensen missed out due to the cold, with Benno Schmitz replacing him.
Behind at the break
The game began with a loud display of song from both sets of fans and a choreo from the Kaiserslautern Westkurve.
The hosts were keen to push on early on and had the first real chance, with Boris Tomiak firing past the post with a strong half-volley from a half-cleared corner. FC responded moments later, with Timo Hübers failing to hit the target from five yards out with a free header following Leart Pacarada’s inswinging corner.
Luca Waldschmidt’s stab at goal was almost flicked in from close range by Eric Martel, though it was Lautern who would take the lead. After losing the ball on the halfway line, the home side moved forward and Richmond Tachie’s deflected effort from 20 yards looped over and away from the stranded Marvin Schwäbe to open the scoring.
FC failed to make much headway going forward, with Lautern having the best opportunity to extend their lead. Dejan Ljubicic passed the ball straight into Terrence Boyd’s feet, though the forward chipped well over the bar 30 yards from goal.
Second-half of madness
The second period got off to the worst possible start as a quick Lautern counter paid dividends. Marlon Ritter found Kenny Prince Redondo completely free on the left wing and he was able to push into the box and fire into the bottom corner across Marvin Schwäbe.
FC responded immediately, as Linton Maina cracked the crossbar and Luca Waldschmidt failed to hit the target from two promising positions on the edge of the box.
Despite FC pushing to reduce the deficit, it was Lautern who extended their lead. Tachie was fouled on the edge of the box and Marlon Ritter made no mistake in finding the back of the net from 20 yards.
From there, FC launched a comeback mission. Jan Thielmann, who came on two minutes prior, was able to nick in at the near post from a Florian Kainz free-kick and give somewhat hope to the cause.
Baumgart’s side kept pushing and 11 minutes later, got their second. Mark Uth met Benno Schmitz’s cross and his header kissed the inside of the back post as FC fans started to believe. However, moments after that, Florian Kainz saw red for cutting out a Kaiserslautern counter.
Try as they might and despite their best efforts, FC couldn’t find a late leveller and Lautern made it into the last 16. FC are in action again on Saturday 4th November against FC Augsburg. Kick-off in the RheinEnergieSTADION is at 15:30 CET.
Team news
1. FC Kaiserslautern (3-4-1-2): Krahl – Elvedi, Kraus, Soldo – Zimmer, Tomiak, Raschl (Opoku 66‘), Redondo – Ritter – Tachie (Hanslik 82‘), Boyd (Lobinger 76‘).
1. FC Köln (4-2-3-1): Schwäbe – Schmitz, Hübers, Chabot, Pacarada – Martel (Huseinbasic 77‘), Ljubicic (Uth 57‘) – Maina (Thielmann 69‘), Waldschmidt, Kainz – Selke (Tigges 69‘).
Goals: 1:0, Tachie 19’. 2:0, Redondo 47’. 3:0, Ritter 65’. 3:1, Thielmann 71’. 3:2, Uth 82’.
Referee: Sven Jablonski (Bremen).
Booked: Hübers (63’), Pacarada (88’), Elvedi (90+7’), Tomiak (90+8’).
Sent-off: Martel (79’), Kainz (84’).
Attendance: 49,327 (sold-out).
