1. FC Düren won away at the U21s of 1. FC Köln – Abdul Fesenmeyer was the hero of the day.
In a fiercely contested match that was open at all times, 1. FC Düren came out on top in the neighborhood duel with the U21s of 1. FC Köln.
Abdul Fesenmeyer was the only scorer on the day. The former KFC Uerdingen striker, who moved to Düren from TSG Hoffenheim II in the winter, ran clear of the Cologne defense after a through pass from Dennis Brock and confidently slotted the ball past Cologne keeper Jonas Nickisch.
Captain Marco Höger, who is currently unavailable to FC due to knee problems, watched the game from the stands of the Franz Kremer Stadium. “It was an even game, perhaps even with a slight advantage on our side. We then got a little careless in midfield in the first half, where we fell behind, and then we found it difficult to become really compelling, especially in the final third. You have to say that it was largely down to us that we didn’t pick up three points today,” analyzed the former Bundesliga professional.
Höger’s deputy Stephan Salger was also unhappy with his team’s performance. “I think we were relatively in control, then we played very sluggishly in the first 30 minutes, very slowly, with too many contacts. Düren then took a 1:0 lead with a counter-attack after winning possession. That didn’t make things any easier for us, but it didn’t really change the game. We came out quite well in the second half and controlled the game. In my opinion, Düren did virtually nothing going forward. Maybe one or two set pieces, but we defended them well. “
Salger criticized, however, that the FC youngsters did not create enough clear chances and did not make the most of them. The defender also said: “We need to talk about the first 30 minutes in the team.”
In contrast, 18-year-old Matti Wagner, who made his regional league debut on the day, received praise from the vice-captain. “Matti has been with us continuously since the winter break, is training well and also played a very good game today in his first competitive match. He played very maturely, had good actions and defended well,” said Salger on the young left-back’s performance.
1. FC Köln U21: Seven 2004 players involved
U21 coach Evangelos Sbonias also praised Wagner’s performance and emphasized that with goalkeeper Jonas Nickisch, defenders Rijad Smajic and Tidiane Touré, midfielders Emin Kujovic and Meiko Wäschenbach as well as strikers Damion Downs and João Pinto, seven players from the 2004 age group were also in the starting eleven. According to Sbonias, this could also be a reason why they lacked the necessary cleverness in some situations. “Of course, it’s incredibly bitter to lose 1-0 here. It wasn’t our best game, but it’s not that I feel one goal worse today. It’s just that Düren managed to score from the few chances they had and we didn’t score from numerous chances. Then you lose a game like that 0:1,” said an annoyed Sbonias.
Naturally, the opponents’ analysis was somewhat different. Düren defender Marcel Damaschek said: “I thought we actually got into the game very well, always had access in the center. We then scored the goal, which was well deserved. Then, shortly before half-time, you could tell that Cologne were pressing. We were no longer able to clear the ball properly, but luckily we didn’t get one, which was very important. It was relatively even in the second half. In the end, it was very competitive, but I thought we deserved to win. “
