Haller’s first goal gives SGE 1-0 win at Cologne

Sébastien Haller bagged the winning goal as Eintracht Frankfurt claimed a deserved 1-0 win at Cologne.

Eintracht Frankfurt took their points tally to seven on Wednesday evening with a 1-0 victory in front of 49,000 fans at 1. FC Köln. A battling display gave SGE their second away win of the season following their 1-0 victory in Mönchengladbach. The Eagles are yet to concede a goal away from home and it’s only the second time in the club’s history that they’ve gone three away matches in a row unbreached. It’s also Eintracht’s first win at Cologne since 7 May 1994.

Good away form

Eintracht went into the game having picked up four points and kept two clean sheets in their previous two outings on the road. The home side, meanwhile, were bottom of the table with no points on the board.

Kovac freshens things up

Coach Niko Kovac made three changes from the eleven that started against Augsburg on Saturday. Taleb Tawatha replaced Jetro Willems at left-back. Gelson Fernandes was preferred to Jonathan de Guzman alongside Makoto Hasebe in front of the back four, while Carlos Salcedo was rested and left out of the squad. Ante Rebic came in on the left flank, with Mijat Gacinovic on the right and Kevin-Prince Boateng in the middle behind the lone striker Sébastien Haller.

Haller converts first-half penalty

Frankfurt’s opening goal on 22 minutes provided the game’s first real moment of excitement. Gacinovic pounced on a back-pass from Maroh that was far too short but then took a heavy touch and collided with goalkeeper Timo Horn. Referee Petersen, making his debut in Germany’s top flight, pointed to the spot and his decision was backed up by the video assistant. Sébastien Haller kept his cool to convert the penalty for his first-ever Bundesliga goal. Six minutes later, Hasebe had to come to the rescue at the other end to deny Simon Zoller from close range with Lukas Hradecky already beaten. Simon Falette also cleared off the line from Cordoba shortly before the break.

Eintracht defend valiantly

The Eagles let Köln have more of the ball in the second half and relied on counter-attacking football. The Billy Goats increased the pressure but were restricted to harmless efforts from Yuya Osako (50’), Milos Jojic (66’), Leonardo Bittencourt (70’) and Marcel Risse (72’). Osako then had their best chance in the 79th minute when he fired over unmarked from five yards out. It was all Köln for the final quarter of the match – but Kovac’s side held firm for the clean sheet.

Mixture of luck and skill

Eintracht’s defensive solidity and the penalty from Haller ensured that Eintracht left Köln with three points. The hosts had clearly more possession but Lukas Hradecky was largely untroubled in the Eagles’ goal.