Düsseldorf Take Second on Shoot-Outs After Köln Fight Back in the Topspiel
It went all the way, and the champions held their nerve. Düsseldorfer HC beat Rot-Weiss Köln 5-4 on shoot-outs after a 1-1 draw in Sunday’s women’s Bundesliga Topspiel, and that result takes them second in the table.
Köln will feel this one. It was their last home field game of the year, the REWE Sportpark crowd was up for it, and they fell behind before half-time, DHC leading 1-0 at the break. Köln fought their way back to 1-1 in the second half and took the game to shoot-outs, but the champions don’t hand out second place for free. DHC won the shoot-out 5-4 and took the extra point that matters.
That’s the key detail in Germany’s shoot-out system. A draw alone wouldn’t have settled second place. DHC’s shoot-out win means they leave Köln as the team sitting second, with Köln left to chase them. For a side that came into the weekend as defending champions, that’s a statement result on the road.
For Köln, the disappointment is real, but so is the performance. They’ve already beaten Alster 2-0 this season and taken points in shoot-outs against Harvestehuder and Großflottbek, so this isn’t a team falling away. They pushed the champions to the wire in front of their own crowd on their last home day of the year. The gap to second is small, and the season has a long way to run.
For our money, DHC’s experience showed when it counted. Shoot-outs are about nerve as much as skill, and the champions had more of it when the game was on the line. Köln will get another crack at them, and next time the home crowd might be the difference.
https://sportscursor.com/bundesliga-women-topspiel-rot-weiss-koln-dusseldorfer-hc-25-october/
https://sportscursor.com/rot-weiss-koln-5-1-uhlenhorst-mulheim-top-bundesliga/
