Lineup
There were no changes in the starting lineup compared to the home win last week. Kevin Kratzsch, Nico Klaß, Tanju Öztürk, and Kerem Yalcin formed the defensive line. In midfield, Luca Schlax, Glody Ngyombo, Denis Donkor, Eric Gueye, and Tarsis Bonga started again. Up front, Timur Kesim and Cottrell Ezekwem were supposed to score goals.
Game Summary
The Shamrocks started off strong and had their first chance after just four minutes. After a cross from Donkor, Ezekwem rose in the box but didn’t connect well with the ball. Kesim’s shot just missed the goal. However, the Fortuna also posed a threat. After a pass from the left side, former Shamrock Arnold Budimbu found himself in front of Kratzsch but missed the ball by inches (7th minute). Shortly after, the hosts capitalized on a mistake by the Red-Whites: after winning the ball back, captain Nico Klaß played a precise pass to Batarilo, who scored the opening goal for Cologne (10th minute). Just as Kesim came close to equalizing, the hosts took advantage of another error in the Oberhausen defense. After a mistake by Donkor, Kratzsch saved Afamefuna’s shot, but the rebound fell to Matter, who scored the second goal for the Red-Whites (15th minute). The Shamrocks tried to find their way back into the game with longer spells of possession, but Fortuna didn’t give them much space to work with. In the midst of the Shamrocks‘ first good attacking phase, Cologne executed a counterattack perfectly. After a one-two between Batarilo and Budimbu, the former Shamrock scored another goal for his team (33rd minute). Until halftime, RWO had more possession but couldn’t capitalize on it.
The second half started perfectly for the Red-Whites: Eric Gueye had too much space on the left side and placed the ball perfectly into the top corner (47th minute). However, in the following minutes, the hosts regained control of the game. The Shamrocks struggled to put more pressure on Cologne. But there was still a chance for a consolation goal: after a free-kick from the right, Yalcin had a shot but narrowly missed the target, failing to get his team back into the game (74th minute). On the other side, Mittelstädt won a sprint against Öztürk, but Kratzsch made a good save to deny the goal (76th minute). In the final minutes, the Shamrocks pushed forward but couldn’t avoid the 3-1 defeat.
After the cup game against VfB Homberg on Tuesday, October 15, the league continues with a home game against SC Wiedenbrück on Saturday, October 19.
