SVE narrowly lose in Cologne despite courageous performance
Despite putting in a good performance, SV Elversberg lost 0:1 in Cologne for their third official match defeat in a row. Disappointment levels are high – but Horst Steffen was still happy with how things went.
For the first time in the club’s history, SV Elversberg faced 1. FC Köln – one of Germany’s longest-standing clubs – in an official match. The three-time German champions and four-time cup winners have a reputation as a heavyweight of German football, building anticipation for SVE and their fans. The Saarland team and 2,900 of their supporters travelled to the sold-out RheinEnergieSTADION, where 49,800 spectators were awaiting an exciting match. But despite a courageous performance and numerous good opportunities, SVE suffered a close, unlucky 0:1 defeat. The deciding goal came shortly before the final whistle.
The hosts from Cologne had to manage without several key players: Luca Waldschmidt was out with a cold, whilst Mark Uth was suffering from a muscle injury. Denis Huseinbasic was similarly unavailable due to injuries. FC’s coach Gerhard Struber was therefore forced to make some changes, and added Florian Kainz and new winter addition Joel Schmied to the starting eleven. Köln were given hope by the return of Tim Lemperle, who was ready to be back in action after a muscle injury. However, it was still far too early for the striker (who will be transferring to TSG Hoffenheim in the summer) to be granted a place in the starting eleven, so he took up position on the bench.
On the opposing side, SV Elversberg’s coach Horst Steffen also made some changes following their defeat by 1. FC Magdeburg. Frederik Schmahl was suspended following his red card and replaced by Semih Sahin, who was able to play from the starting whistle once again for the first time after his injury. Lukas Pinckert returned to the starting eleven following his yellow-card suspension and stood alongside Maximilian Rohr to form the central defence duo, whilst Florian Le Joncour moved to the bench. On the attacking end, Tom Zimmerschied replaced Luca Schnellbacher to put pressure on the goal alongside Lukas Petkov. In addition, Robin Fellhauer returned to the team for the first time after being out for several months with an injury.
Before the match, Gerhard Struber talked of his team giving a ‘dominant, bold and determined performance’. When the match began, it seemed that his players would be living up to this. Dejan Ljubicic gained his first opportunity in the tenth minute when he fired in a shot from left midfield, but it went over the crossbar. However, after this SVE gained increasing control of the game and began posing a threat. After a corner, Köln’s Eric Martel fired a shot that fell just short of the line (17th minute). Barely two minutes later, a noteworthy attack put Tom Zimmerschied in front of FC goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe, who managed an emergency save.
Although the visitors seemed to be the superior team in the first half, the home team also had one fantastic opportunity: Nicolas Kristof was able to punch away a pass from Leart Paqarada, but the subsequent shot from the rear by Jusuf Gazibegovic only just missed the goal (32nd minute). At half-time, the scoreline remained at 0:0, to whistles from the Köln fans expressing their dissatisfaction with their team’s performance.
It is great to see that we were fully committed. I am happy with our performance.
SVE coach Horst Steffen
After the break, SV Elversberg continued their good performance from the first half and kept a hold on the game until the 60th minute. In the 54th minute, Maurice Neubauer fired a ball from the left midfield that flew past the net, and shortly after Lukas Petkov nearly put the visiting team in the lead, but his shot from 18 metres out rebounded off the far post. A goal by Fisnik Asllani (51st minute) was disallowed due to assist player Petkov being slightly offside. Despite the visiting team’s dominance, FC Köln increasingly gained a foothold in the game and appeared to take the lead in the 68th minute: Linton Maina overcame Lukas Pinckert to fire the ball into the net from a sharp angle. However, after a VAR check, the goal was disallowed due to a shove shortly before – a key moment that spurred the Köln team on to step up their performance.
‘This game demanded a lot of us. Our opponents have a lot up their sleeves and enjoy repeated success with their bold positional play’, Köln’s coach Gerhard Struber said after the match. Ultimately, the luck lay with Köln. In the 82nd minute, Dejan Ljubicic scored the deciding goal when a poorly cleared pass from Paqarada landed at his feet. He curled the ball from 16 metres out to land it precisely in the bottom right corner. Struber admitted: ‘It was ultimately a hard-fought win and sometimes you just need a bit of luck.’
Although SV Elversberg tried everything in the final minutes, a half-chance for substitute Luca Schnellbacher (90th minute) was their only opportunity to equalise, leaving the scoreline as a narrow 1:0 victory for Köln. ‘Congratulations to Gerhard and the team on their win. If we had won 1:0, it would say it would have been well-deserved. But that did not happen’, was the summary by SVE coach Horst Steffen after the match. ‘It is great to see that we were fully committed. I am happy with our performance.’
Thomas Kessler, sporting director of the professional players’ department at 1. FC Köln, appeared relieved but also had some criticisms: ‘Elversberg played a very good game. The disallowed goal gave the team another jolt. It felt like we really wanted to win. Those are three very important points. But I also saw a lot of things that I didn’t like. Now we need to analyse them with tough eyes.’
Things continue for SVE on Friday, when they are welcoming Karlsruher SC to the URSAPHARM Arena. The Saarland team will have to manage without Fisnik Asllani, who gained his fifth yellow card in Cologne, and Elias Baum, who received a red card (two yellows) in the final minutes of the game. The match will kick off at 6:30 p.m., and Elversberg will be doing all they can to get back on a successful track after their unlucky defeat in Cologne.