“That was really sh***y today.

Bundesligists 1. FC Köln found themselves experiencing a most unwanted feeling of deja vu on Saturday. Just like in the 2020/21 DFB Pokal round-of-16, Die Geißböcke found themselves eliminated by 2. Bundesliga side SSV Jahn Regensburg 4-3 on penalties at the Jahnstadion.

Afterwards, former Regensburg executive Christian Keller commented on his team’s disappointing first competitive showing of the new season.

Köln head-coach Steffen Baumgart and Effzeh sporting director Christian Keller were left to lament missed chances when discussing their team’s premature elimination from the 2022/23 domestic cup. The cathedral city side were able to claw back from a 0-2 deficit admirably, yet could not score the all-important third goal to keep the match from going to extra time and eventually penalties.

Baumgart’s lineup selection was a little odd. Sargis Adamyan started alongside Anthony Modeste in a very awkward 4-1-2-1-2 diamond. After the Bavarian hosts went up 2-0 inside of the opening half hour, Baumgart adjusted by moving Dejan Ljubicic back next to Ellyes Skhiri in a 4-2-3-1 double-six set.

“We had a weak opening quarter-of-an-hour, in which the opponent got three big chances and finished off two of them,” the Geißböcke trainer remarked afterwards, “but once we switched to two sixes we got the game under control and really should have scored the third goal. We just didn’t.”

Relatively newly appointed 1. FC Köln sporting director Christian Keller, a Regenburg alum, seemed in a much more dour mood following the loss to his old club. The Effzeh executive didn’t specifically criticize Baumgart’s selections or tactics, but made it clear he thought that everyone associated with the team (presumably also himself) had taken far too myopic an approach to an important match.

“We calculated cautiously [for the start of the season] and didn’t plan more for the cup,” Keller noted, “We rely on every euro [invested] and today we didn’t get the right returns. That was really shitty today, both in sporting and economic terms.”

Keller agreed with Baumgart that the “third goal should have been scored”, also taking care to emphasize that he had full confidence in the team to take all three points against Schalke in the Bundesliga opener next Sunday.

“The team has shown that they’re capable,” Keller concluded, “It hurts today, but we’ve got another competition coming.”