The spectators in Cologne saw a thrilling derby with a dramatic finale to kick off the 18th matchday of the Regionalliga West.
A real top match was on the agenda in Cologne to kick off the second half of the Regionalliga West season. After all, the U21s of 1. FC Köln and Fortuna Köln, fourth and second in the table, met on Friday evening (December 1).
And the hosts got off to an attacking start in the Franz Kremer Stadium right from the kick-off: A long ball from Meiko Wäschenbach flew through the Fortuna defense and found Pierre Nadjombe, who held his nerve after just over ten seconds to give the “Effzeh” an early lead.
The game initially flattened out after this lightning start before things picked up again after just over half an hour. Stipe Batarilo had the best opportunity for Fortuna (30′), but then the home side responded with a double strike. After a foul on Justin Diehl, Damion Downs converted from the spot (36′) and Diehl himself made it 3:0 just two minutes later.
In the second half, both sides initially failed to score. It remained quiet in front of goal until the 68th minute, when substitute Danny Breitfelder scored almost out of nowhere after a feed from the right to make it 3-1 – with over twenty minutes left on the clock for Fortuna.
Damaj misses the chance to win for Fortuna
But the Effzeh threw everything into it, while the visitors stepped up the pressure and put on a real power play in the final minutes. That went well for the hosts for a long time, but in the 87th minute the deadlock was broken for a second time: this time it was Dominik Lanius who made it 2:3 with a deflected shot.
The home side now appeared to be broken, while Fortuna actually managed to equalize. A free-kick found the head of Jonas Scholz, who nodded in to make it 3:3 in stoppage time (90.+1). And there was even an opportunity to win the game on the road, but substitute Leon Damaj was denied by Effzeh goalkeeper Jonas Nickisch.
As a result, the points were shared, with neither side able to exert any real pressure on leaders 1. FC Bocholt and the rest of their rivals in the promotion race ahead of Saturday’s games.