Victoria Cologne moved further clear at the summit of the Third League with a 3-0 victory over Ingolstadt 04 at Sportpark Höhenberg on Saturday. The hosts opened the scoring in the 60th minute through Niklas Horst Castelle, who had just returned to the pitch after being substituted earlier in the half. By then they had already established a rhythm that Ingolstadt struggled to disrupt.
Castelle's strike came shortly after a wave of changes around the hour mark. Pascal Fallmann, Yannick Aime Tonye and Castelle himself all came off and on within the same window, and the fresh legs showed immediately. The goal settled any nerves that might have lingered from a goalless first half.
David Otto doubled the advantage in the 77th minute, slotting home after Ingolstadt had failed to clear their lines. The visitors were already showing signs of frustration, with Vinko Sapina picking up a yellow card in the 62nd minute. They could not find a way back into the game despite a few attempts to push forward.
Lucas Wolf added a third in the 85th minute, finishing what had become an open game. The substitute who had replaced Keanan Bennetts at half-time made his mark late on, and the result felt inevitable by that stage. Ingolstadt's remaining yellow card for Benjamin Kanuric in the 86th minute came too late to change anything.
Victoria Cologne dominated possession at 61 per cent, registering nine shots on target compared to just two for the visitors. The difference in quality was evident in the conversion rate — three goals from nine attempts on target tells you everything about their efficiency. Ingolstadt managed five corners to the hosts' seven, but could not create enough to threaten.
The win keeps Victoria Cologne top of the table with 15 points from seven games, five wins and two defeats. Ingolstadt remain in 12th place with eight points, two wins, two draws and three losses. The gap between them widens, and for the visitors there is still work to do before the season gets interesting.
