1. FC Köln suffered a disappointing 0-2 defeat in the German capital. Vedad Ibisevic struck on either side of halftime to secure the win for Hertha BSC.

Peter Stöger opted for the same eleven that took the field against Gladbach, and the opening stages were characterized by two even sides. 14 minutes into the match Cologne were lucky not to concede a penalty when it appeared as if Dominique Heintz made contact with Salomon Kalou in the FC box. This scene functioned as a wake-up call for the guests as Kevin Vogt and Leonardo Bittencourt both had promising chances. Vogt's header was saved by the goalkeeper (16'), while Bittencourt's shot came back off the post (34').

Ibisevic breaks the deadlock

40 minutes into the match, Hertha became more dangerous. First, Cologne's in-form keeper Timo Horn denied Vedad Ibisevic with a brilliant save and then Niklas Stark headed the ball just wide (41'). A minute later Anthony Modeste just missed the target on the other side. But the hosts made the most of their next scene when Ibisevic finally got past Horn with an accurate header into the far corner (43'). Thus, the hosts had their noses in front at the break.

Chances for Berlin

The second half started with an offensive Hertha side. Horn had to react well against Ibisevic again to save his team (50'). Three minutes later Kalou missed the far post from the edge of the six-yard box just before Valentin Stocker should have scored from a close range (57'). Hertha put FC under permanent pressure and the guests, who had lost their organisation, were lucky that Horn stood tall against Haraguchi (58').

Three changes for FC

At the hour mark Stöger reacted and brought on striker Simon Zoller for Olkowski. As a consequence, Risse switched to the right back position just before pacemaker Vogt was knocked out by Vladimir Darida and had to be replaced by Yannick Gerhardt (64'). These changes had a direct effect. Risse fired a ball towards Jarstein, who could not keep hold of the ball. Youngster Gerhardt's strong header was cleared off the line by Mitchell Weiser before Modeste could not get past Jarstein either (64'). Four minutes later Stöger played all-in by bringing on Philipp Hosiner, the fourth striker. This risky formation led to more space for Hertha and substitute Sebastian Baumjohann tested Horn with a long-range attempt (73').

Ibisevic adds a second

It was an open match in the remainder, in which Berlin managed to keep Cologne away from goal. The only finish was a header by Modeste, which did not test Jarstein (88'). Horn remained 1. FC Köln's best player as he denied another good chance by Johannes van den Bergh (90'). In stoppage time Ibisevic finished a counter to double his tally. At the end of the day, Hertha snatched a deserved win and Cologne will hope for better in their home match against FC Ingolstadt on Friday, September 25th (20:30).

Hertha BSC: Jarstein – Weiser, N. Stark, Lustenberger, Plattenhardt – Skjelbred, Darida – Haraguchi (89' Cigerci), V. Stocker (67' J. van den Bergh) – Kalou (71' Baumjohann), Ibisevic

1. FC Köln: Horn – Olkowski (61' Zoller), Sorensen, Heintz, Hector – M. Lehmann, K. Vogt (64' Gerhardt) – Risse, Osako, Bittencourt (68' Hosiner) – Modeste

Goals: 1-0 Ibisevic (43', Plattenhardt), 2-0 Ibisevic (90', Baumjohann)

Yellow cards: Skjelbred (11') | Hosiner (73')

Referee: Florian Meyer

Attendance: 38,000