René Wagner addresses Cologne’s familiar set-piece problems after frustrating Bundesliga defeat

René Wagner addresses Cologne’s familiar set-piece problems after frustrating Bundesliga defeat Cologne head coach René Wagner cut a frustrated figure after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat away at Hamburger SV , lamenting a performance that produced enough chances to win but ultimately yielded nothing. Cologne controlled long stretches at the Volksparkstadion, finished with 68 percent possession and registered 18 shots. A dominant first half nevertheless yielded no goals. Nicolas Capaldo’s header shortly before halftime and Yussuf Poulsen’s strike immediately after the restart left Wagner’s side chasing a two-goal deficit. Ragnar Ache eventually pulled one back in the 90th minute, but the late response arrived too late. Some whistles could be heard after full time from traveling supporters of the cathedral city club. “It hurts a great deal,” Wagner noted in his opening statement at the post-match press conference. “We played a good game. I think we had a great opportunity to win a Bundesliga match today. We lost a game against a very efficient team today. My disappointment is great. The lads gave it all today until the very end. We couldn’t reward ourselves for a good performance.” Cologne dominance undone at decisive moments The frustration was understandable. Hamburg entered the match without a point or goal through the opening three Bundesliga fixtures and initially struggled badly against Wagner’s side. Cologne repeatedly worked their way into dangerous positions during the first half, with Said El Mala, Mikey Moore and Thijs Dallinga all threatening. HSV goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes produced several important saves, including an excellent stop from Dallinga’s close-range header. Cologne’s failure to make their pressure count proved costly. Matters became exceedingly difficult for die Geißböcke after they fell 0-2 behind. The club professionals acknowledged as much. “We can only be dissatisfied,” Tom Krauß told Sky Germany after the match. “Once again, we didn’t defend a set piece well. Up until then, I don’t think we’d allowed them anything at all. Setbacks like that are very difficult. In the end, we deserved to lose as well because Hamburg were there in the decisive moments.” Marvin Schwäbe reached a similar conclusion. “We conceded goals at extremely unfavorable moments,” the Cologne goalkeeper said in the mixed zone. “We had chance after chance, then we concede just before halftime. It went terribly. We can’t allow ourselves this kind of up-and-down performance. You get punished immediately for that, so we have to work through it.” Set-piece problems continue to trouble Cologne Cologne’s vulnerability from dead-ball situations is hardly new. The issue was already plaguing Lukas Kwasniok’s team at precisely this stage last season , and Wagner acknowledged that his current squad continues to devote significant training time to correcting it. “Under stress, it’s the case that people make the wrong decision,” Wagner said of the set-piece defending. “We work on that every week. It hurts me too because I see how the lads are working on it every week meticulously in training. We’re trying to get better. We know the problem. We keep getting this question because we’re not succeeding.” Wagner urges Cologne to keep moving forward Some of the traveling supporters expressed their frustration after the final whistle, though Wagner also heard plenty of encouragement. “I heard some whistles, but I also heard some claps,” Wagner said. “We had our moments. The result doesn’t reflect the effort. We won’t win every Bundesliga game, unfortunately. Disappointment is part of it. We simply must march forward. We’ve picked up four points through four Bundesliga matchdays. We have issues to address, but we will do so.” That leaves Cologne with a fairly clear assignment during the international break. The performances have contained enough promising football. The task now is turning territorial superiority and chances into goals while eliminating the kind of avoidable defensive moments that punished them in Hamburg. With a Rhine derby against Borussia Mönchengladbach awaiting after the break, Wagner will hope those corrections begin producing points quickly. GGFN  |  Peter Weis