Darmstadt handed 1. FC Köln their most embarassing defeat in the history of their club, as they beat the Billy Goats 2-0 in the Bundesliga to relegate them.
Before the game, a win for either side was the goal in order to survive in the Bundesliga.
In the first half the match was slightly in favour of Köln, with Faride Alidou hitting the post with a wonder chance which he created himself.
Darmstadt, however, looked dangerous every time they came forward and caused an under-12 level defence the world a problems when the skilled Tim Skarke came forward with the ball.
The game went into half time with the score at 0-0, which pretty much reflected the game. In the second half, Faride Alidou (Köln's most promising player) was brought off (perhaps due to head injury) for Linton Maina.
In the 57th minute, after having pushed for the opener during the entire game, Darmstadt finally scored to take the lead through Christoph Klarer who put the ball between the legs of both Julian Chabot and Marvin Schwäbe.
Köln brought on player after player, but were unable to capitalise as players like Sargis Adamyan were useless in converting any chances.
As a last resort, Mark Uth was brought on with around twelve minutes of normal time left and Köln reverted to using three strikers (Sargis Adamyan, Steffen Tigges and Mark Uth).
However, their fans' hearts were broken as Darmstadt countered one last time to seal the game as Oscar Vilhelmsson put the dagger in the club's hopes of survival.
Aftermath
Not only does this loss mean that Köln are effectively relegated, but also it shows that they may well struggle greatly in the 2. Bundesliga next season.
This performance was a record-breaking disappointment for the fans of the club as they had never lost in nine previous games against their opponents (seven wins and two draws).
With four points between them and Mainz and five between them and Bochum and four games remaining, the Billy Goats are practically down into the 2. Bundesliga.
Match Result
'19 Faride Alidou POST
'57 Christoph Klarer ⚽️
'90 Oscar Vilhelmsson ⚽️