Only the 15th home win in the 47th attempt in the derby against Gladbach caused beaming faces on Cologne’s side – and some demands. Coach Steffen Baumgart singled out one player, even though he was not among the scorers.
“We will definitely demand two days off. Hello, after a derby win … – and then spend two days with the family and maybe have a beer “, joked Mark Uth, who had been instrumental in Cologne’s derby victory with his goal to make it 2:1, on “Sky” after the match. Steffen Baumgart, who was addressed by Uth, commented on the brash demand of his goal scorer with a mischievous grin and said: “Yes, if he demands it, then by all means.”
The fact that the mood among the Rhinelanders was thoroughly relaxed after the 4-1 win was something the FC players had fought for and earned themselves beforehand. “We already know where we are coming from. We played against one of the best teams we have in Germany. I’m sticking to that. And you have to wrestle or fight them down a bit. We did that well and played good football in one or two situations. And that’s why I think it was a deserved derby win,” analysed the Cologne coach.
Baumgart’s special praise for Özcan
He was particularly pleased for the three goal scorers who scored the winner after Dejan Ljubicic’s eye-catching opening goal: “You can also say that we forced the mistakes. And then Mark , who hasn’t always scored lately, scores. The same goes for Ondrej (Duda) and the same goes for Seb (Sebastian Andersson)” So Uth had already scored his only goal of the season before on matchday 2 in the 2:3 in Munich. Andersson had previously only scored in the 3:1 against Fürth at the beginning of October. And for Duda it was his first goal of the season.
I don’t like to single out players, today I have to. Salih Özcan put in an outstanding performance.
But Baumgart gave special praise to another player. “I don’t like to single out players, today I have to. Salih Özcan showed an outstanding performance. As a Cologne boy, he played a strong derby,” said the 49-year-old. For Özcan had excelled almost for the entire duration of the game both as a driver of the game and a tackler in midfield.
Jonas Hector was not even on the pitch during the hot phase of the game – all five goals were scored from the 55th minute onwards. Cologne’s captain had to leave the pitch with an injury shortly after the break. “He had already indicated at half-time that his thigh was on strike. He wanted to try again, but it didn’t go any further,” Baumgart explained. A more accurate diagnosis was initially pending on Saturday.