Kenyan international Linton Maina managed to get some minutes under his belt on Friday as his FC Köln side defeated Czech outfit Slovácko 1-0 thanks to a late penalty which ensured the German side maintained their hopes of reaching the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) knockout stages.Initially scheduled to be played on the normal Thursday evenings, the game was forced to be abandoned due to foggy conditions which made it impossible to complete the tie at the Městský fotbalový stadion Miroslava Valenty.Jaaaa! SCHLUUUUSS! Wir gewinnen mit 1:0 gegen den 1. FC Slovácko 🤩🤩🤩 So stark, Jungs! Nächste Woche geht es im Endspiel zuhause mit euch im Rücken gegen den OGC Nizza. Ob es spannend wird? 😮💨❤️ ___🔵⚪ 0:1 🐐 (90.) #SLOKOE #ReturnOfTheGOAT pic.twitter.com/fuBZ67zky0— 1. FC Köln (@fckoeln) October 28, 2022 On Friday, in much better conditions, the game was re-started in the seventh minute and there was plenty of intensity from both sides in an end-to-end first half, but composure and quality in the final third was sorely lacking.Sargis Adamyan had two promising openings for the visitors where it looked like he was in on goal only for a sloppy touch to let him down at the vital moment. The hosts came closest to breaking the deadlock just before the break, but the angle was too tight for Merchas Doski as his header flicked off the outside of the post and away to safety.Yema Mwamba returns to Kakamega Homeboyz for a second stintKöln had a brilliant chance to open the scoring shortly into the second half when a penalty was given for a foul by Michal Trávník. With the pressure on, Florian Kainz didn’t look confident in his run-up and his penalty was the perfect height for Filip Nguyen who made a great save. That moment did appear to embolden Slovácko as their fans came alive, but they still failed to find enough quality in the final third to trouble Marvin Schwäbe.The game struggled for momentum in the final stages due to multiple fouls and a flurry of yellow cards as tempers flared, and Köln were given a second chance from the spot after a rash challenge from Michal Kohút.##NAJAVA_MECA_6767341##Ondrej Duda showed the composure that was lacking from Kainz to calmly slot the ball into the back of the net as Koln went ahead on the 82nd minute, a narrow lead they held onto till the full time whistle.The result means that Slovácko have been eliminated from the competition, while the German outfit will need to win against OGC Nice in their final game to guarantee their place in the knockout rounds.
Additional reporting by Flashcscore.