Musona sends 1899 into round three

Horrible start

After the weekend victory over high-flying Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hoffenheim manager Holger Stanislawski made four changes to his starting eleven. Sven Schipplock, Obasi, Musona and Jannik Vestergaard came in for Isaac Vorsah, Fabian Johnson, Roberto Firmino and Vedad Ibisevic respectively. Opposite number Stale Solbakken made two changes from the side which lost 5-0 at Dortmund, bringing in Miso Brecko and Christian Clemens in for Adil Chihi and Adam Matuschyk.

Hoffenheim's players had been speaking about gaining revenge on Köln for the recent 2-0 defeat in the Rhein-Energie-Stadion, but they got off to a terrible start as the away side took the lead after just six minutes. After some neat interplay involving Clemens, Lukas Podolski and Slawomir Peszko, the ball was played into the box for Jajalo, who confidently stroked home the opening goal. Hoffenheim seemed rocked, and almost fell further behind soon afterwards, when Clemens' shot from close range struck the outside of the post (14). The first chance for Stanislawski's side fell to Sven Schipplock, but his effort from 20 yards was well held by Köln keeper Michael Rensing, while Vestergaard also a header saved when well-placed (17, 21).

Obasi levels it up

The game was becoming stretched as Hoffenheim pushed for the equaliser, while Köln seemed comfortable to hit their opponents on the break. They almost made it 2-0 just before the 30-minute mark, but Peszko's cross was far too heavy for Podolski at the far post. That miss proved costly, as Stanislawski's team soon restored parity. Four minutes before the interval, Ryan Babel finished off a long run by crossing for Chinedu Obasi to level from eight yards out (41).

Both sides emerged for the second half unchanged, and it was the home team which came roaring out of the blocks this half. Just four minutes in, Henrique Sereno dallied in possession and was robbed by Zimbabwean Musona, who sprinted to goal and planted a firm finish into the corner past Rensing for his first competitive goal for the club (49). Köln were rocked at conceding two goals either side of half-time, but they came back strongly and could have levelled it up at 2-2 on 59 minutes, but Martin Lanig's shot crept past the post. The Geiβböcke continued to press, and soon the game was being played almost entirely in the Hoffenheim half. The next good chance again fell to Köln. A neat one-two between Peszko and Podolski allowed the Pole space to shoot, but his effort could only find the side netting. In the final minutes of the game, Köln threw everything at Hoffenheim, but could not find the goal that would force extra time. 1899 themselves could have scored a third goal on the counter-attack, but Dominik Kaiser missed the target when set up by Obasi.

TSG into round three

Referee Knut Kircher sounded the final whistle to bring an end a cracking cup-tie, sparking warm celebrations among Holger Stanislawski and his players. They're now into round three of the German Cup, and that much closer to a possible appearance in Europe next season. The next round of matches will be played on 20th/21st December 2011.

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