The atmosphere at the Geißbockheim was naturally excellent the day after. 1. FC Köln remains a home power – and also made sure that rival Gladbach choked on it.
The Cologne players ran a whopping five kilometres more than their opponents on Saturday and even if this figure in itself does not provide any information about the course of a game, it does testify to the fact that the Cologne players were once again prepared to invest every grain of they had in them. Steffen Baumgart’s analysis was aimed precisely at this: “After Gladbach’s equaliser, there was a phase in which the game could have tipped in the other direction. I was happy that we kept pressing up front after the equaliser. The boys were rewarded for their effort.”
This effort, which Cologne put in almost every game (without always rewarding themselves so lavishly for it), led the team into the midfield of the table, the 4:1 in the derby incidentally also ensured a balanced goal ratio of 22:22 again – the 0:5 disgrace of Hoffenheim has been redeemed.
Hector’s thigh hardened
Nearly unmentioned was a personnel issue that would have caused moments of shock in the previous season: after 51 minutes Jonas Hector had to leave the pitch, the captain was one of Cologne’s assets until the moment of his substitution. A hardening in his thigh forced him to retire, but this did not shake the FC. Kingsley Schindler took the position on the right side of the back four, Benno Schmitz moved to the left. The Cologne team continued their game without any noticeable break. Schmitz directly prepared the lead through Ljubicic, Schindler was indirectly involved in Ondrej Duda’s goal, his cross was served to the Slovakian by Gladbach’s Elvedi.
It cannot be emphasised often enough what Steffen Baumgart and his coaching team have done with this squad. Saturday once again clearly demonstrated that this team has gained potential across the board at a good level. Two substitutes, Mark Uth and Sebastian Andersson, scored. This means that FC already have four joker goals to their name this season. That is already as many as in the entire pre-season. Ondrej Duda scored his first goal of the season. He was previously the one among the goal-less players who had taken the most shots on goal. Now the reward.
We are unbeaten at home because we are a force together with the fans.
This is what leads to this: Cologne are unbeaten at home for eight games this season, which of course means they have been unbeaten in all six home games under Steffen Baumgart. The last home defeat dates back to the 32nd matchday of the pre-season with a 1:4 loss against SC Freiburg. Mark Uth passed on the compliments to the fans after the win against Mönchengladbach: “This is my first derby that I have won. I am just happy. When the Südtribüne dances, laughs, sings, drinks – there is no better feeling for us players. It’s always nice to play at home. We are unbeaten at home because we are a force together with the fans. “
But above all, the success is based on a lot of work. “Commitment, cohesion on the pitch, stepping on the gas and throwing yourself into every ball”, which the coach demanded from everyone. And this was what the Gladbach (Baumgart: “One of the strongest teams we have!”) were served. And what they choked on in the end.