Viktoria Köln stops negative trend – now Sandhausen is waiting

After four games without a win, Viktoria Köln got back on track against MSV Duisburg and won 2-0. The Zebras with interim coach Engin Vural presented themselves for a long time as the unpleasant opponent that his counterpart Olaf Janßen had expected: “The way they defended us in terms of ball possession hurt us a lot. The spaces were very tight,” he analysed at the press conference after the game, adding: “You have to put up with that sometimes. We gave the ball away too easily and struggled with the fact that we couldn’t get through.”

Janßen even spoke of luck that it went into the dressing room with a 0-0 draw. That changed after the break, when Luca Marseiler (52′) and Bryan Henning (87′) set the course for a home victory. Janßen saw an increase in performance, as a consequence of which his team “scored the goals at the right time”.

The Cologne-based team moved up to fourth place thanks to the three-pointer, while MSV remains winless and at the bottom of the table. But Jansen didn’t want to hang that too high: “The difference in performance is very, very small in the 3rd league compared to the table places, for example with the two of us.”

 

Viktoria Köln travels to promotion candidate Sandhausen

Accordingly, the 56-year-old should not attach too much importance to the tenth place of the upcoming opponent SV Sandhausen (Saturday, 14 p.m., LIVE! on kicker). After the surprising defeat against Halleschen FC (1:4) and Preußen Münster (0:2), the Baden-Württembergers were able to win 2-1 at fellow relegated SSV Jahn Regensburg. In fact, SVS and Viktoria are only one point apart, so the winner of the game could catch up with the top three. Leader Dynamo Dresden has already gained some breathing space with a four-point cushion on its pursuers.