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SV Elversberg fans were in for a real treat this Saturday at the home game kick-off of the new second division season – Bundesliga relegated team 1. FC Köln, who are among the top favorites for promotion, were guests at the Kaiserlinde stadium. In front of a sold-out crowd, the team had to convince against “Effzeh”.

Cologne clearly superior in the first half

The first quarter of an hour belonged to the guests – they repeatedly put Horst Steffen’s “Elv” under pressure by consistently attacking and winning the ball as a result, while the SVE, for their part, was unable to penetrate the opponent’s goal and create a goal-scoring threat. The situation was different on the other side: a double chance for Cologne in the 5th minute remained unused, and SVE keeper Nicolas Kristof was able to prevent a goal in the 14th minute thanks to a strong save.

In the 20th minute, however, Kristof had no chance. Denis Huseinbasic, who was served by Tim Lemperle, placed the ball completely unchallenged and unstoppable for Kristof into the bottom right corner, thus ensuring the Billy Goats’ well-deserved 1-0 lead.

Best chance for SVE in injury time

There was no notable reaction from SVE to the setback, and the hosts were barely present in the offensive. Instead, the “Effzeh” continued to control the game and created another double chance in the 39th minute: After a corner kick, Lukas Pinckert saved a header from Timo Hübers on the line, and shortly afterwards Kristof deflected Lemperle’s header past the post.

In injury time, SVE had a chance to equalize. Luca Schnellbacher got hold of the ball in the opponents’ penalty area and shot directly from around 13.14 meters, but was not precise enough. The ball landed just wide of the goal – the “Elv”‘s best chance up to that point. Cologne went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

Equaliser right at the start of the 2nd half

The equalizer didn’t take long to arrive. In the first minute of the second half, Fisnik Asllani, who had just been substituted on, equalized the scores again after a sloppy defensive move by Cologne and an assist from Robin Fellhauer around six meters from the goal: 1:1 was now read on the scoreboard in the Kaiserlinde stadium.

The equalizer seemed like a liberation for the SVE, who now presented themselves from a completely different side. After a great chance in the 53rd minute, which Cologne’s Paçarada was able to clear at the last minute, Steffen’s second joker came into play: Manuel Feil served Fisnik Asllani in the Cologne penalty area with a lob, who placed the ball on the far post, where Frederik Schmahl pushed in to make it 2-1 for the SVE in the 62nd minute.

For a long time, Cologne had difficulty breaking free from their state of shock and finding a suitable response to the quick goals conceded. There was hardly any sign of the dominance of the first half. Then, out of nowhere, the 2-2 equalizer came in the 83rd minute with a header from Hübers, who headed the ball into the left corner after a set piece.

Kristof prevents defeat

The Billy Goats then increased the pressure again and actually had the opportunity to turn the game back in their favor in the 91st minute after another corner. SVE goalkeeper Kristof was there again and prevented the visitors’ “lucky punch” with a brilliant save, directing Luca Waldschmidt’s header over the crossbar with his fingertips.

The game ended in a 2-2 draw, meaning SVE has two points to its name so far. Its next chance to score is on August 23 against Karlsruhe. Before that, it has to play in the DFB Cup on August 18 against VfV 06 Hildesheim.

The SR info news also reported on this topic on the radio on August 9, 2024.