2. Bundesliga - 14. Matchday

1. FC Köln drew 2:2 against Hannover 96 on Saturday afternoon at the RheinEnergieSTADION. Jessic Ngankam opened the scoring before Tim Lemperle levelled early in the second-half. Max Christiansen’s foul on Eric Martel saw him sent-off, with FC making the man advantage count in the 81^st minute. An unfortunate Florian Kainz own goal meant that Hannover came away with a share of the spoils.

Team news

Gerhard Struber opted for the same starting side that began the game in Münster last weekend.

Stefan Leitl made four changes from the 2:1 defeat to Darmstadt last time out. Bartlomiej Wdowik, Monju Momuluh, Hyunju Lee and Andreas Voglsammer dropped to the bench, with Josh Knight, Jannik dehm, Havard Nielsen and Jessic Ngankam starting in their place.

Ngankam opens the scoring

The game was intense from the get-go, with both sides keen to come forward in the early stages. There was little in the way of breakthrough, however. After Tim Lemperle’s penalty appeals were waved away, Havard Nielsen had the first meaningful moment of the match, drawing a save from Marvin Schwäbe after his 20-yard drive.

Hannover would open the scoring as well. Enzo Leopold’s long free-kick found the head of Jessic Ngankam, who rose highest to power past Schwäbe and wheel away to the travelling fans.

Dejan Ljubicic failed to find the immediate response after a Lemperle cross, though FC had Dominique Heintz to thank after he cleared Nielsen’s effort off the line just before the break.

All-square at the end

The second-half saw FC respond and with devastating effect. Leart Pacarada’s pass behind the defence saw Tim Lemperle shrug off Jannik Dehm and finish with aplomb past Ron-Robert Zieler. It was almost two in five minutes, yet Eric Martel was a hair offside as he poked home from close range.

Martel was at the centre of things and it was Max Christiansen’s studs-up foul on the FC midfielder which saw Christiansen sent off with 54 minutes on the clock.

Struber’s side controlled the game from there on, and in the 81^st minute Linton Maina’s mazy run resulted in him breaking free of the Hannover defence to cross for a Damion Downs tap-in.

Hannover, who had been pushed in for almost the entirety of the second-half, did manage to find a late leveller. A cross from substitute Monju Momuluh saw Timo Hübers inadvertently flick the ball into the path of Florian Kainz, who couldn’t get out of the way and forced into his own net.

FC are next in action on Wednesday evening in the DFB-Pokal. Hertha BSC are the visitors to Müngersdorf, with kick-off in the last 16 tie at 18:00 CET.

Line-ups

1. FC Köln (3-4-1-2): Schwäbe – Pauli (Downs 71’), Hübers, Heintz – Ljubicic (Thielmann 90’), Martel, Huseinbasic, Pacarada – Waldschmidt (Kainz 71’) – Lemperle, Maina (Uth 90’).

Hannover 96 (3-4-1-2): Zieler – Knight, Halstenberg, Neumann – Muroya (Voglsammer 85‘), Leopold, Christiansen, Dehm – Nielsen – Tresoldi (Kunze 61‘), Ngankam (Momulah 83‘).

Goals: 0:1, Ngankam 25‘. 1:1, Lemperle 49‘. 2:1, Downs 81‘. 2:2, Kainz OG 86‘.

Referee: Sören Storks (Velen).

Booked: Nielsen (43’), Kainz (77’).

Sent-off: Christiansen (54’).

Attendance: 50,000 (sold-out).