Bielefeld conceded 1:3 (1:2) in Cologne on the 31st matchday and thus the seventh defeat from the last eight games – Arminia is still in 17th place in the table and is in acute danger of relegation.
Markt Uth (3rd), Anthony Modeste (43rd) and Jan Thielmann (86th) sealed the 15th Bielefeld defeat of the season, which could have been worse given the balance of power.
However, Cologne was not consistent enough in many moments, such as when the Bielefeld goal came about: FC central defender Timo Hübers (33rd) stumbled the ball into his own goal to make it 1-1. Nevertheless, with 49 points, Cologne is clearly on course for Europe.
Bielefeld fired the hapless Frank Kramer on Wednesday and made the previous goalkeeping coach Kostmann the boss. Those responsible for sporting director Samir Arabi hoped that this step would give them an impetus in the fight to stay up in the league.
But Kostmann had just taken his place in the coaching zone on Saturday when he saw Bielefeld’s first goal. Uth was allowed to accept the ball in the penalty area and shoot it from the turn – goalkeeper Stefan Ortega could only look after the ball.
Shortly thereafter, Cologne captain Jonas Hector and Bielefeld’s Alessandro Schöpf clashed heads. Ex-national player Hector returned after a long treatment with a thick bandage around his head, but then had to leave the field.
After the spirited start, it became increasingly disorganized, with many duels and fouls characterizing the game in front of 50,000 spectators.
Bielefeld made an effort, but not dangerous – and still managed to equalize. Patrick Wimmer forced Luca Kilian to make a mistake, passed the ball in the middle, where Hübers unfortunately scored into his own goal.
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