A strong second-half from 1. FC Köln saw René Wagner’s side record a 2:0 win against Real Sociedad in a behind-closed-doors friendly. Luca Waldschmidt opened the scoring before a Marius Bülter curled home a second.
Level at the break
FC began the stronger of the two sides and almost went ahead in the seventh minute, with Paul Okon-Engstler glancing a near-post effort from a dangerous Luca Waldschmidt free-kick just wide. Moments later, Waldschmidt tried to find the far corner with a reaching set-piece but Unai Larranaga managed to turn the ball behind.
It was Larranaga who was again tasked with denying Reigan Heskey, who cut inside after a mazy run, with the Sociedad stopper making a flying stop to his left. Late on in the first-half, the Basque outfit began to create chances of their own. Ron-Robert Zieler made a brave one-on-one stop to deny Job Ochieng, before gleefully taking the ball into his hands from Ahien Capellan’s deflected effort.
Strong second-half
The second-half began slowly, with both teams failing to find a way through. Paul Okon-Engstler fired over the bar from the edge of the area, with David Fürst producing a similar shot from a similar distance.
FC took the lead in the 74th minute. A misplaced pass from Real Sociedad saw Jan Thielmann drive into the box before laying off the ball to Maik Afri Akumu. He teed up Luca Waldschmidt, who arrowed a 16-yard drive into the far bottom corner.
Eight minutes later, René Wagner’s side had a second. The ball dropped kindly for Marius Bülter, who had came on moments prior. The forward took the ball out of his feet before bending a stunning shot into the top corner from 20 yards.
Linton Maina had the chance to add a late third after a foul in the penalty area, though he fired wide from 12 yards. The second friendly between the sides follows tomorrow at 15:30 CEST. The game will take place at RheinEnergieSTADION.
Line-ups
1. FC Köln: Zieler (James 46‘) – Castro-Montes (Sebulonsen 75‘), Schmied, van den Berg (Pauli 75‘), Friemel (Fürst 46‘) – Kristal, Okon-Engstler (Irmiev 60‘) – Thielmann (Maina 75‘), Waldschmidt (Bülter 75‘), Heskey (Afri Akumu 46‘) – Niang (Yacobi 60‘).
Goals: 1:0, Waldschmidt 74‘. 2:0, Bülter 82‘.
