Köln through to UECL group stages following 3-0 victory

Both teams ensured that the opening ten minutes of the fixture were played at a brisk pace. Köln snatched an early lead – and with it a tie in the aggregate score – off a corner in the 10th. Timo Hübers easily shook off his marker and headed in a Florian Kainz service with a simple finish. The ball remained mostly in midfield for the next quarter-of-an-hour, though the guests were noticeably better in the hard-fought duels.

Die Geißböcke mostly found themselves stymied in the final third, with their Hungarian hosts showing bodies in front to block long-range efforts. There wasn’t really a chance of note until Kainz belted in a shot from about 20 meters out. Fehervar keeper Daniel Kovac had to be alert to fist the powerful rocket away. Kainz -quite the playmaker on this day -nearly set up Maina one minute before the end of the half.

The Germans were able to get the tally they needed to go ahead on aggregate not long after the restart. The 2-1 also came off a Kainz corner in the 46th. this time Pedersen flicked on Kainz’s service to Skhiri at the far post. The Tunisian was able to finish before defender Loic Negro could catch up to the ball. The Fehervar defender could only deflect an attempted headed clearance into his own net.

The hosts tried to open up a bit and were, after some managed risk taking, finally able to generate some chances. Köln keeper Marvin Schwäbe had to make a stellar save on Palko Dardai just after the hour mark. Schwäbe was called upon to make a few more saves during what was a brave second have from Michael Borris’ men, but the the home side weren’t able to manage anything particular dangerous down the stretch.

The group stage of the 2022/23 UECL is set to kick off on September 8th. Baumgart actually won’t be on the sidelines to coach his team after receiving a red card for arguing with match official Ali Palabiyik over a throw-in in the 90th.

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