Kiel (SID) coach Ole Werner gathered his team briefly at the center circle and praised them for their strong performance, but no one wanted a preliminary decision at Holstein Kiel after the 1-0 (0-0) in the relegation first leg at 1. FC Köln to know something. “We know about the difficulty of the task and will stay hot,” said Werner with a view to the second duel on Saturday (6 p.m. / DAZN).
Everyone involved is aware that the second division has a historic chance. But there are still “at least 90 hard minutes”, emphasized veteran Fin Bartels. In the first comparison on Wednesday in Cologne, Kiel was “grippy and galling,” said Bartels: “We defended everything and that’s why we’re going into the second leg with a small advantage.”
There, in front of 2,350 fans, there is the opportunity in Kiel to become the first Bundesliga club from Schleswig-Holstein. The regular players Jonas Meffert and Alexander Mühling, who were still banned on Wednesday, will then be available again.
Coach Werner had shown a golden hand and substituted Simon Lorenz before a standard situation in Kiel. The central defender paid back the trust with the decisive goal (59th) – he was on the field for just 20 seconds.
“We were very disciplined, and then we see that we can keep up with such a good team as 1. FC Köln,” said Lorenz, who at the same time warned against being overly optimistic: “We know that it’s not worth anything can be if we don’t go into the game so wide awake on Saturday. ” The victory in Cologne is nothing more than a “first step” on the long way to the longed for ascent.
In 2018 Holstein was already in the relegation, but failed at VfL Wolfsburg. And this year, too, the omens before the first duel with FC spoke more against Kiel. Because of their quarantine, the North Germans had to play numerous catch-up games every three days, on the last matchday of the 2nd Bundesliga they gave up direct promotion.
Werner nevertheless encouraged his players “We still have the situation that we are in the second division and can only win – we are already in the second division,” said the 33-year-old: “The pressure is on 1. FC Köln and we look forward to the game. “
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