Uth, Heintz, and Keller positive after draw: "We need to carry on like this."
Even though a draw at home against Augsburg - combined with Mainz's surprise victory over Leipzig - now leaves 1. FC Köln dead-last in the Bundesliga table, two of Steffen Buamgart's new starters emphasized that there was plenty of ground for optimism for Germany's cathedral city side.
Home-town hero Mark Uth made his long awaited return to the 1. FC Köln starting lineup on Saturday afternoon after struggling with public bone problems for over a year. Uth was among four changes to the Kölner starting XI employed by Geißböcke trainer Steffen Baumgart. Newly returned defender Dominique Heintz made his first start of the season, working the left-back role he unexpectedly excelled in for VfL Bochum last year.
Both players turned in solid overall performances in a 1-1 draw with Augsburg that did feature plenty of top chances for both sides. Uth and Heintz each conveyed optimism when speaking to Sky Germany in their respective post-match interviews. Effzeh sporting director Christian Keller - in stark contrast to his comments after last week's loss - also struck a positive tone.
"I think we played a good home match," Heintz told his interviewer, "We started well, created chances to score and exerted pressure. We won a lot of balls and played well going forward. We came out even better in the second half. Ultimately, we showed what's important when you're down at the bottom. We fought together as a unit. You could see that on the pitch and it makes me feel positive."
Uth was more modest, particularly with regard to his own performance after such a long layoff. The 32-year-old nevertheless worked his way up to a more positive conclusion. Uth also emphasized that he believed in the thesis of football instilled by Baumgart.
"I found it very, very difficult to get into the game," Uth remarked in his interview, "I had a lot of problems. In my opinion, I was very poor in the game. I saved my game again in the second half, when I was much, much better.
"It makes no sense to play different football now," Uth continued, "If we implement what he wants and if we get the intensity on the pitch, then we'll have good games.That was the case now, that was the case in the half-hour against Kaiserslautern. That's the only way it works. We'll carry on like this."
Keller also advocated sticking to the strategy.
"Basically, the team should go home with a positive feeling today," Keller added, "even if they are all certainly disappointed and annoyed. We put in a decent performance here against an in-form Augsburg, and I thought we were the better team. Now we have to carry on like this. Then we'll get three points."