Cologne gets first Bundesliga point in 0-0 draw at Hannover

BERLIN: Cologne fought its way to its first point in a 0-0 draw at promoted Hannover on Sunday after starting the Bundesliga with five straight defeats.

Now the last-place side hopes it can build on that point.

"The luck will come back and the chances we had today will go in," Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn said. "We'll start winning the games again. But the precondition was this performance that we delivered today."

Peter Stoeger's side, which has scored only one goal all season, hasn't netted in its last four league games. That highlighted the extent to which Cologne relied on French striker Anthony Modeste, sold in the offseason in a big-money move to Chinese side Tianjin Quanjian.

Modeste scored 25 Bundesliga goals for Cologne last season. His replacement, former Mainz striker Jhon Cordoba, is yet to score in six games.

Cologne looked nervous and short of ideas, and it was lucky not to concede before the break. Ihlas Bebou and Niclas Fuellkrug both missed chances before Hannover defender Salif Sane hit the side-netting and then the crossbar.

The visitors improved after the break, when Lukas Kluenter, Leonardo Bittencourt and Yuya Osako all had chances.

"We all have to be satisfied with the draw," said Hannover general manager Horst Heldt, whose fourth-place side remains one of three unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season.

"(We) let too many opportunities go. But that's the way it goes. We didn't lose," Heldt said. "It usually happens when you don't convert your chances that you concede somehow and thankfully that didn't happen."

Hannover coach Andre Breitenreiter remained unbeaten in 15 games across two divisions.

Bayer Leverkusen was hosting fellow struggler Hamburger SV later Sunday.