The Set: Cologne 1-1 Arminia Bielefeld

Cologne dominated much of the game at home against Arminia Bielefeld, but in the end, couldn’t break down the central-half pairing of Herzig and Andre Mijatovic with Dennis Eilhoff in goal. With over 60% of possession and 16 shots on goal by Cologne, it was down to the organization of the two central defenders to frusta rate the home side and deliver the crucial point for Arminia.

Cologne opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Matip found Ehret free down the left with a pitch-long pass. Ehret then sent an in-swinger into the box where Vucicevic made a good dummy run that pulled the defenders forward, allowing Petit to ghost in and head the ball in for his 3rd of the campaign. It looked like a rout was on as Eilhoff was called on to save two more definitive chances in the 17th and 22nd. But those saves proved crucial as Arminia found a leveler late in the 2nd half.

Bielefeld took advantage on the one mistake by the Cologne defense. In the 42nd, Brecko tried to send a ball back to the keeper. The ball hit Geromel, accidentally, and Katongo picked up the loose ball and made a beautiful shot from the top of the box to equalize. It was only the second goal of the campaign for the creative midfielder.

While Cologne continued to dominate the game in the second half, they could never find a winner. Novakovic was subbed at half due to injury, so most of the chances in the second stanza fell to Vucicevic and his finishing isn’t the best part of his game.

In the end, Cologne will felt hard done by with a point, but they are safe from relegation. Meanwhile, Bielefeld earned a point on tenacity and sees itself two places off relegation, as they leapfrog Cottbus in the standings.

7 Random Things About Cologne and Arminia

1. Wichniarek was essentially taken out of this game by the poor crossing of Bielefeld. Jonas Kamper had a game to forget as he provided more souvenirs than chances. While McKenna did a solid job on the Bielefeld captain, he only had one real chance the entire game due to a lack of service.
2. Markus Bollman was the weakest link. And it was obvious that Daum had targeted him from the beginning as Cologne’s attack flowed down its own left hand side to pick on the RB. If it weren’t for Herzig and Mijatovic, Bollman’s poor performance would have been much more notable.
3. 19 year old Kevin Pezzoni is going to be a massive star in the Bundesliga. He is very solid in front of the back line and puts in some of the most crunching, yet legal, tackles in any league in Europe. In a game where a good DM is worth his weight in gold, Pezzoni is going to be a household name within two years.
4. Sergiu Radu, on the other hand, is well past he sell-on date. The reason he is passed around more than Pokemon cards at a Elementary school is because he has turned to complete and utter garbage over the past two years. Daum tried to change the formation by bringing him on, but he did nothing, and it ended up costing them when Ehret sustained an injury late in the game and couldn’t come off.
5. I can’t help but think that Cologne supporters aren’t doing themselves any favors. Yes, I understand the frustration they have felt at being a huge club that has turned into a Yo-Yo side. However, they are quick to get down on the team, which puts the players under pressure and has led to Cologne being a better road team than a home one. Hopefully, Cologne fans will see the error of this destructive tendency and fix it next year.
6. Michael Frontzeck made a quick move in the 75th when he subbed Robert Tesche for Oliver Kirch. Kirch had just made a late challenge on Kevin McKenna that was arguably bookable. But while the ref was preoccupied with the injury, the Arminia trainer replaced the midfielder before he could get his second yellow. It may have well, saved the point.
7. Considering that they lost both Petit and Novakovic during the match, it should be noted how much Cologne have grown over the season. These two players were the crux of the team when the season started. Without both, they still played well and with a lineup of young players like Ehret, Vucicevic, Pezzoni, Brecko, Matip, Brosinksi, McKenna and Geromel, this is going to be a team to contend with in the coming campaigns.
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