Kenyan midfielder Linton Maina was on target as FC Koln narrowly missed out on a place in the DFB Pokal semi finals on Wednesday 5 February.The 25-year-old made his mark in the 54 minute against reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen, but his team’s dream start was not enough as they went 3-2 down in dramatic fashion at BayArena.Full-time.Absolutely gutted. The lads gave it their absolute all.___3:2 #B04KOE #effzeh pic.twitter.com/9uAHKIB7Ox— 1. FC Cologne (@fckoeln_en) February 5, 2025 The visitors jumped to a lead deep into first-half stoppage time when Damion Downs took advantage of a defensive mishap to arrow an unstoppable strike from a tight angle.The Billy Goats were then in decent position to produce the biggest cup upsets in their history when Maina timed his solo-run to near perfection, before advancing to cut back and slot in past Matej Kovar into the far corner.Contra ataques de excelência 🤌 Linton Maina🇩🇪 DFB-Pokal | @bayer04fussball 0 x 2 @fckoeln#DAZNPokal pic.twitter.com/AkhvJ3FOGg— DAZN Portugal (@DAZNPortugal) February 5, 2025 The goal was Maina’s third at the club this season, having also scored in the same competition against Sandhausen in August.His celebration, celebrated by one end of the Koln supporters, was however later replaced with agony as Xabi Alonso’s side did what they often do best – produce a comeback.##NAJAVA_MECA_8684707##The hosts halved the deficit just past the hour mark through Patrik Schick, as he showed composure inside the box to bury a low effort from a tight angle.And just when Koln thought they had seen out the game, Schick grabbed a dramatic equalizer deep into stoppage time by expertly nodding Jeremie Frimpong’s cross into the far corner.Substitute Victor Boniface would have the final say in extra time after finishing from an Alejandro Grimaldo pass.New Gor Mahia coach pinpoints team’s areas of improvementKoln thought they had equalized late, only for Imad Rondic to be ruled marginally offside.Koln, proud of their deepest run in the competition since 2010, now turn their attention to the 2. Bundesliga, where they remain top and are likely to gain promotion to the top tier.A visit to the RheinEnergieStadion to face Schalke 04 awaits them on Sunday.
