Ljubicic penalty sees Köln past Hertha Berlin
| Dejan Ljubicic. | (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images) |
For Köln, Tim Lemperle’s chance within first minute went wide. Another chance just a minute later through Denis Huseinbašić was missed.
Again for the hosts, defender Julian Pauli close miss from header from corner within the first 10
Köln conceded a penalty in the 10th minute via Julian Pauli, with Ibrahim Maza scoring it in the left corner.
Massive chance 14th minute via header for Lemperle from Dominique Heintz cross following the aftermath a free-kick
During the 25th minute, Hertha BSC’s Zeefuik was sent off for headbutting Timo Hübers with a quick referee decision.
Köln broke the deadlock quickly after thanks to a messy goal in the 30th minute from a corner thanks to Florian Niederlechner putting it into his own net.
Köln's Max Finkgräfe hit the bar in the 34th minute, with Köln being the better side after the red card.
Then, Linton Maina hit a shot just past the post in the 38th minute.
After half time, Marvin Schwäbe saved a rare Hertha attempt in the 53rd minute.
Following this, Hertha's Toni Leistner nearly scored an own goal following his interception of a cross but the ball fell into his keeper’s hands.
Köln piled on more pressure with half an hour left, with Luca Waldschmidt and Leart Paqarada coming on
Toni Leistner blocked a shot from Tim Lemperle in the 74th minute, in a last ditch effort to stop a goal.
In the 100th minute, Dejan Ljubicic missed a golden opportunity as he missed an open goal by stumbling on the ball.
Luca Waldschmidt was unlucky for Köln not to score as he flashed in a well-hit strike just over the bar minutes later.
In the 111th minute, Damion Downs made Hertha’s Ernst produce a spectacular save to keep the game level.
Tjark Ernst made two top saves within a minute towards the end of the tie from Timo Hübers and Dejan Ljubicic.
Lastly, during the 118th minute Florian Kainz was brought down in the box to win a penalty for the host side.
For the last chance of the game, Dejan Ljubicic netted this penalty and following his unfortunate miss earlier he made no mistake this time out.
