Great relief at FC Viktoria Köln! The importance of the 1:0 victory against Rot-Weiss Essen was evident to all Viktorians after the final whistle.

Viktoria Köln managed to win 1-0 against Rot-Weiss Essen, their first three points in 2023. They had started the new year with so much hope after a great half-season.

But after three defeats, Viktoria first had to return to the basic virtues. The results were now the 1-1 in Wiesbaden and the 1-0 win over RWE.

Much to the delight of coach Olaf Janßen. “Something has already changed in the team with the game against Wiesbaden. We had that greed again. And against Essen that was also the case again. No metre was too much for us. We didn’t give the Essen team a chance to score. You have to manage that first. Of course: We actually have to lead 2:0, 3:0. That takes nerve. Because you know that a 1:0 is a dangerous result in football until the last second. Fortunately, it was enough,” a relieved Janßen told “Magenta TV”.

The fact that 36-year-old Mike Wunderlich, who returned to Viktoria from 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the winter, was the winning goal scorer made the 56-year-old football coach Janßen particularly happy. Janßen said: “I am totally happy for Mike. He’s been received super by the team. He lives this club. He has more than earned this first goal since his return. Now it’s time to move on. “

For Viktoria it’s all about third league points again on Saturday (18 February, 2pm) at Dynamo Dresden. That’s why Wunderlich and Co. are also forbidden from celebrating on Thursday, on Altweiber in the carnival stronghold of Cologne. Janßen made it perfectly clear: “We don’t celebrate Altweiber, the boys know that. Sitting on dry land on Altweiber with a glass of water hurts even more than not being there.”

With a good performance in Dresden, however, Janßen would then certainly hold out the prospect of a small party for Shrove Monday for his charges.