On 1 December, one of the matches of the 13th round of the German football championship took place. Darmstadt (Germany) and Cologne (Germany) met.
German Championship, 13th round
Darmstadt (Germany) - Cologne (Germany) - 0:1 (0:0)
Goals: Davy Selke (60)
Warnings: Kainz (18), A. Seidel (65), Timo Hubers (68), Davy Selke (71).
SV Darmstadt 98 - FC Koln: A tense battle ended in a win for Koln In the Bundesliga match between SV Darmstadt 98 and FC Koln, held at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor, the football fans were on edge. Both teams fought for every centimetre and the match was intense, ending in a hard-fought 1-0 win for Koln. The first half of the game ended 0-0-0, with both teams trying to break through each other's defence. However, the course of the match changed in the 18th minute, when FC Koln player F. Kainz received a yellow card, which started an escalation of the fight. In the 23rd minute SV Darmstadt 98 made the first substitution: M. Mehlem replaced T. Kempe. This tactical change gave some energy to the Darmstadt team, but did not bring immediate results. The second half started with two quick substitutions from FC Koln: L. Kilian replaced M. Finkgrafe and F. Kainz was replaced by L. Waldschmidt. After only 14 minutes, FC Koln achieved the breakthrough they had been looking for - D. Zielke scored the decisive goal in the 60th minute. This allowed Koln to take a 1-0 lead and take control of the match. As the game progressed, explosions broke out and both teams received a yellow card each.
A. Seidel of SV Darmstadt 98 was sent off in the 65th minute, followed by T. Hubers and D. Zielke of Koln in the 68th and 71st minutes respectively. In the 66th minute, SV Darmstadt 98 responded to the deficit with a double substitution. A. Seidel came on in place of L. Pfeiffer and T. Skarke was replaced by O. Wilhelmsson. However, despite all efforts, Darmstadt failed to equalise. In the 66th minute, the goal was cancelled due to offside, which upset the players and fans of FC Koln. As tension mounted, both teams continued to shuffle their lineups with more substitutions. In the 73rd minute FC Koln replaced D. Zielke with S. Tigges, and in the 83rd minute Darmstadt 98 released M. Honsak and E. Karic instead of F. Nürnberger and F. Stoiljkovic. In a desperate attempt to save a point, both teams made last substitutions in the final minutes of the game. L. Maina replaced M. Olesen in the 85th minute, while D. Ljubicic came on in place of M. Ut. Despite Darmstadt 98's late efforts, Koln held out and won a hard-fought victory. The final whistle blew with the score 1-0 in favour of FC Koln and Darmstadt were left disappointed but proud of their performance. This tense Bundesliga match showed the determination and resilience of both teams. Every moment was filled with excitement and tension, proving once again why football is one of the world's favourite sports.
In the next round, the following matches await the rivals: Heidenheim vs Darmstadt, Cologne vs Mainz.
| Darmstadt | Cologne | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Kicks to the goal | 6 |
| 10 | Kicks | 12 |
| 4 | Blocked shots | 2 |
| 2 | Penalty kicks | 7 |
| 8 | Kicks from outside the penalty box | 5 |
| 12 | Offences | 11 |
| 1 | Corner | 6 |
| 3 | Offsides | 3 |
| 45% | Ball possession | 55% |
| 1 | Yellow cards | 3 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 5 | Keeper saves | 2 |
| 366 | Total assists | 443 |
| 281 | Accurate assists | 361 |
| 77% | Accuracy of passes | 81% |