FC Viktoria Köln vs VVV Venlo

Viktoria Köln needed just two minutes to break the deadlock. Tobias Eisenhuth's free kick from a central position smacked against the left post, and Taylan Duman was quickest to the rebound, nodding home from close range (2').

VVV responded in kind. A corner found Jay de Graef unmarked in the box, and the defender's firm header restored parity (10').

Viktoria reclaimed the lead within three minutes. Niklas Swider was held back in the area and the referee pointed to the spot. David Otto stepped up and drilled the penalty low into the bottom right corner (12'). Otto thought he had doubled the lead in the 17th minute but was flagged offside, and struck the underside of the crossbar in the 29th minute — the referee did not award a goal.

Marian Wilhelm changed his entire XI at half-time, and the replacements made an immediate impact. Diego Perri smashed a powerful shot into the near post (50'), and Raphael Ott added a third in as many minutes (51') to make it 4-1.

VVV rallied late. Dean Zandbergen converted after good pressing work (82'), but Kiyan Ermis — a U19 prospect — restored the three-goal cushion within a minute (83'). Alex Schalk scored VVV's third in the 85th minute to set the final score at 5-3.

The four-minute window either side of the 50th minute decided the match. VVV had a goal disallowed for handball in the 49th minute through Devy Hendrix, and within 120 seconds of that let-off, Perri and Ott had scored twice to turn a slender 2-1 lead into a commanding 4-1 advantage. The Dutch side never recovered.

• Taylan Duman (Viktoria Köln) — Opened the scoring with a poacher's header inside two minutes. Pulled the strings in central midfield before being substituted at half-time.
• David Otto (Viktoria Köln) — Scored a composed penalty and was a constant threat, hitting the post and the bar either side of a disallowed goal.
• Diego Perri (Viktoria Köln) — Introduced from the first-half bench and then started the second half, scoring a thunderous goal to make it 3-1.
• Jay de Graef (VVV Venlo) — The defender scored the equaliser with a well-timed header and was solid in the air throughout.

Player of the match: Diego Perri — his goal set the second-half rout in motion.

Viktoria Köln's 5-3 victory reflects a squad that now has five wins from six pre-season outings, having also beaten Bundesliga side SV Elversberg 2-1 on Friday. The 3. Liga side fielded two entirely different XIs across the two halves — a clear sign of depth in Wilhelm's squad. VVV, by contrast, fielded a team dominated by youth players and saved their senior reinforcements for the final 20 minutes, which is when they scored twice. The 2-1 half-time scoreline was a fair reflection of an even first half; the second-half flurry was a product of Viktoria's stronger second-string unit.

Viktoria Köln have now won five of their six pre-season friendlies, with their only defeat coming on 11 July. They open their 3. Liga campaign on 8 August (14:00 kick-off) against SSV Jahn Regensburg. VVV Venlo — who rested key players Youri Schoonderwaldt and Philip Heise entirely — continue their preparation with the annual Herman & Wiel Teeuwen Memorial at the Seacon Stadion – De Koel on Saturday 25 July (19:00) against Fortuna Köln.

A thoroughly entertaining pre-season friendly that told both managers what they needed to know. Viktoria Köln have attacking depth and momentum heading into the 3. Liga season; VVV, still in the early stages of their build-up with a youthful squad, have work to do before the Keuken Kampioen Divisie kicks off.

Sources: FC Viktoria Köln 1904 (viktoria1904.de), VVV-Venlo (vvv-venlo.nl), liga3-online.de, Betmana provider payload.