Cologne breathe life into Europa League campaign with stunning win over Borisov
Cologne produced a memorable comeback to beat BATE Borisov 5-2 and keep their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds of the UEFA Europa League alive.
Cologne 5-2 BATE Borisov
Goals: 1-0 Zoller (16'), 1-1 Milunkovic (31'), 1-2 Signevich (33'), 2-2 Osako (53'), 3-2 Guirassy (63'), 4-2 Osako (82'), 5-2 Jojic (90')
The home side knew they essentially had to win if they were to stay alive in the competition, and they made the perfect start when Simon Zoller raced clear to finish with aplomb past Denis Scherbitski. BATE looked dangerous going forward, however, and after threatening an equaliser, they turned the game on its head with two goals in two minutes. Nemanja Milunkovic equalised after a well worked set-piece routine, before Mikalay Signevich found the bottom corner with a stunning overhead kick.
The home side were staring down the barrel, but an inspired change at the break brought them back into contention. Yuya Osako, on as a substitute for Christian Clemens, scored a lovely equaliser, before Sehrou Guirassy curled in a free-kick to put Cologne back into the lead. The striker departed shortly afterwards with what looked like a hamstring injury, but Cologne stood firm, with Timo Horn making a tremendous triple save. As BATE tired, shots rained down on the visiting goal, and it was left to another substitute, Milos Jojic, to put the gloss on a fine evening's work by heading in Osako's cross.
Line-ups
Cologne: Horn – Sörensen, Maroh, Heintz, Rausch – Clemens (Osako 46'), Lehmann (c), Özcan, Bittencourt – Zoller, Guirassy (Jojic 69')
Absentees: Pizarro (ineligible), Cordoba (hamstring), Risse (knee), Hector (ankle)
Coach: Peter Stöger
BATE: Scherbitski – Rios, Gaiduchik (M. Volodko 60'), Milunovic, Polyakov – A. Volodko (Rodionov 70'), Dragun – Gordeichuk, Stasevich (c), Ivanic – Signevich
Absentees: None
Coach: Aleksandr Yermakovich
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Match stats
- The result was Cologne's first European victory since they beat Celtic back in 1992.Cologne had scored a total of five goals in 13 league, cup and European matches before this game.Osako had scored just one goal this season before his brace here.Guirassy followed up his first Bundesliga goal last weekend with his first in the Europa League.The Billy Goats ended a run of losing their last four European matches, including an Intertoto Cup tie in 1997.BATE's record against German clubs now reads: W5, D1, L3.Cologne have won just two games since beating regional side Leher TS in the first round of the DFB Cup in August; at Hertha in round two of the same competition.Borisov’s captain Vitali Rodionov (Freiburg) and Jurica Buljat (Energie Cottbus) have both previously played for German clubs.
As it happened